(Too) Good Omens - IC

[Leriel]

Ok our story begins with Ren ...

The stone has just fallen. Ren stops, stops spinning, she's still a bit confused.

She walks in the direction of the stone ... although, in this forest, one way or the other does not seem to make much difference.

Ren feels a neigh... a strange neigh. And some shouting, in a language she does not know.

Ren rushes. The noises are louder. She feels smells... as a swamp. And another smell that has never felt before.

Suddenly she enters a clearing ... a white horse, with some wounds, try to prevent some humanoid creatures, scaly like a crocodile, approaching a small pool of water. The horse raises his head ... it has a long horn!

The crocodile creatures seem to hesitate and talk to each other in their strange language. Suddenly, another creature enters the clearing: a dwarf in armor.

The clearing is circular, the lake is more or less in the center. Crocodile-creatures are to the south, the unicorn is between them and the lake, Ren is located in the south-east, Felgor in the west.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

A nimble, armored Catfolk walks casually into the clearing. In one hand, she wields a bottle of wine, and in the other, she holds nothing but waves in a greeting motion. She pleasant smile is only disturbed by a few small scars across her face though the natural Catfolk charm is still there.

"Greetings beautiful scaled ones and wonderfully horned one. What seems to trouble you fine folks today? If it is conflict, can't we just settle this over some fine drink?"

She holds out the drink invitingly, waving it from side to side creating a sloshing sound.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Starbin]

Felgor had been tromping through the forest for a couple of days, following the directions given by a passing halfling. So far, it seemed he had not been conned into an ambush by bandits, so that was good. However, he had quickly grown tired of the constant noises of the wild, disconcerting to one not used to such things. Oh, his home had been filled with sound, but it was the comforting ring of steel on steel, the tromping of boots in drill, the dull roar of the furnace, and the gentling clinking of counting coins. These random and unfamiliar squeeks, screeches, howls, creaks, whistles and groans ... these were down right disturbing!

Lost in his thoughts, he was caught off balance when the rope he held pulled taut. Frowning, he glanced back at his mule, Stubborn. "'Ere now, Stubborn, wot's yer problem?" The mule's ears were twitching and it's eyes had widened slightly. Raising an eyebrow, Felgor listened for a moment, hearing some strange language up ahead ... and a loud neigh. Blinking for a moment, he walked forward towards a clearing he could now make out, tying Stubborn to a root nearby. Fortunately, the mule was too cowardly to run, but he'd be more of a hindrance if there was trouble up ahead.

He left his warhammer on his hip and his shield on his back, but pulled down his longaxe, the pride of his forging achievements. The craftsmanship might be lost on most, but the quality and sharpness of the blade would not.

Striding into the clearing, he took stock of the situation ... and blinked. It appeared that he had stumbled upon a confrontation between some sort of reptilian figures and ... a unicorn?! Amazed by the sight, he almost missed the cat-like figure across from him, but he quickly guaged her distance and outward demeanor as best he could. Clearing his throat, he called out in common.

""Ere now! Wot's all this row about? Dinnae yer mother's tell ye that unicorn's are holy creatures?"

KS: Arcane - [roll0] to learn anything about the unicorn or crocadile folks; Perception check to catch anything else: [roll1]

[Leriel]

The unicorn looks at Ren and then at Felgor. It's quite unease ("it" since you are too far to see if it's a male one).

Suddenly it turns again to the crocodile-men (that move a step back).

Finally it looks at Ren again and it speak in common with a melodious voice (OK, it's a male :smallsmile:)

"Oh kind and furry one, that scaly things understand our speech not. They want to pollute this spring - I cannot allow. Cannot" (says it stomping the ground with an hoove).

The unicorn turn again to look the crocodile-men, than says aloud:

"Yrriur is my name. Thou shall not pollute this spring!"

Yrriur seems to ignore the comment of the dwarf, but he shortly turns to him with a sad look in his eyes.

@Felgor - No insight about the unicorn or the crocodile-men, you just feel strange that such smelling creatures are willing to fight an unicorn. This is not their place.

[Starbin]

Sighing, Felgor mentally berated himself for not praying for a spell to understand the languages of all creatures. Stepping forward, he hooked his axe on his back, and walked in an arc to place himself between the unicorn and the lizards. Frowning, he raised both hands in an attempt to get their attention, but not appear aggressive.

"'Eyo, lizards, hold! This be the 'corn's special place. No washin' yer pits!"

Sense Motive on the two groups (okay, on Ren, too, but I figure those things don't work as well against PCs :smallsmile:): [roll0]. Diplomacy check: [roll1]

Anything unusual about the lizzies?

EDIT: As he stood, Felgor whispered a few words, moving his fingers as he detected magic on the area. First he'd focus on the reptilian figures, then he would focus on the unicorn.

[Leriel]

Felgor, now that you are nearer...

You see that a broken javelin is near the unicorn - but also that the crocodile-men are trying to hide something beyond their group.

Now they are speaking among themselves in their strange languages.

@Felgor: Try another perception check :smallsmile:

[Starbin]

Frowning at the broken javelin, which looks to be the weapon that might have hurt the unicorn, he glanced back at the crocadile-men.

Perception check: [roll0]

EDIT - W00T! The GM is mighty indeed ... simply stating that luck shall come has made it so!

[Leriel]

In order:
- Detect magic: obviously the unicorn is a magical creature. No magic is coming from the crocodile-men.
- You can see for a moment a crocodile-man laying, probably hurt, hidden by the other ones. Also you have a glance of some other smaller crocodile-creatures beyond, curled up and scared.
- Finally you get a word in undercommon (that means "dwarf").

Let's wait for some post from Ren before moving too far :smallsmile:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Hearing the Unicorn's voice and learning she can't converse with the scaled creatures, she gives out a sign and puts back her wine bottle. Shrugging and smirking,

"Mr. horned one, if I help you out, can I get some water to fill my Waterski?. Been out here for some time and I've almost run out."

She starts to slowly walk towards the scaled creatures, cracking her hands in an intimidating fashion.

[Starbin]

Raising an eyebrow at the words from both the reptilians and the cat-woman, Felgor raised his hand in supplication. "Time out, lassie, ye don't need t'be startin' a fight. Looks ta me like these creature's have wounded and younglings. 'Sides, I kin fill yer skin up after."

Turning to the croc-people, the Forgemaster pointed at the hurt and spoke in undercommon. "Hail, travelers ... what do ye be needin' from this pond? Belongs to th'corn, it do. Do ye have injured, cuz I kin help ..."

Trying to defuse the situation - if they speak undercommon, this will be much easier. If not, Felgor will try to offer healing nonverbally. If he has to, he can cast a heal on the unicorn first, so they see the results and offer to do the same for their hurt one.

Hopefully, I'm not adding and abeiting killers and murderers!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Giving the dwarf an inquisitive stare,

"Didn't see you there Hairy One. Or I guess I didn't bother to look past this little encounter. Hmm, but if you can speak their tongue, then be my guest to defuse the situation."

She sits down on the ground, produces her wine bottle, and uncorks it with one of her nails. She then combs back her long white hair from her face and takes a long gulp of fine wine.

"Just let them know that I'll be fighting for the less aggressive side. That goes for you too Mr. Horned one!"

She points a finger at the unicorn with a subtle grin.

[Leriel]

The unicorn turns to Ren and starts speaking:

"A blessed spring this is, blessed and holy! The god..." it stops speaking after hearing Felgor speaking in an unkwnown language.

In the meantime the crocodile-men seem speaking louder after hearing from Felgor, especially a big one seems shouting.

But everyone stop when a smaller one (with a bloated abdomen) scampers out from the crowd and asks in Undercommon (with a high-pitched voice):

"Talk-talk dwarf help?"

The big, shouting one cries loud at the small one, then turns to Felgor and hits its chest:

"Sszaler. Me chief!"

The small one speaks loud in undercommon:

"Sszaler no chief! Kroxigor chief! Kroxigor me mate! Kroxigor ill bad!"

The crocodile-men crowd opens - the small one turn back its head. Felgor and Ren can see clearly a creature laying on the ground, on a rudimentary stretcher. It has a different colour - it's really darker.

Sszaler starts shouting something, but the other big creatures seems to protect the small one.

"Talk-talk dwarf help Kroxigor? Big cat help?"

[Starbin]

Felgor blinked in pleasant surprise that they actually spoke a common language. Of course, as they spoke, the situation seemed to become more clear. It seemed that the chief had taken ill, and its mate wanted to aid him. This other lizard-thing seemed to think he was chief now, and didn't seem happy with the situation.

Hold his hands steady, Felgor spoke over his shoulder to the others, relaying what he was hearing. "Sounds like that one there is hurt ... I'll see if I kin help him, but yer abilities may be needed, 'corn."

Leaving his axe on his back, Felgor reached into his pack and pulled out a small kit. Slowly stepping forward, Felgor spoke to the small (pregnant?) one. "Let me take a look, lass. Mebbe I kin help ..."

Looking to see if Kroxigor is bleeding out, or something else is wrong. If he looks like he's dying, then Felgor will make a Heal (First Aid) check. If something else is wrong, then the Heal check is to help with whatever it is (treat deadly wounds, treat poision, etc). Not sure if Felgor can take 10 on this, but if not, here's the roll: [roll0]

Using the rules for the Heal skill found here (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/skills/heal.html#_heal)

Current spells:
0 - Detect Magic, Create Water, Guidance, Resistance
1 - Magic Weapon, Lead Blades, Protection from Evil
2 - Heat Metal, Resist Energy
Domain - Animate Rope, Wood Shape

[Leriel]

Yrriur speaks:
"I fear you'll need more help from the cat-milady... she seems a proud fighter..." he stomps the ground nervously with his hooves.

As Felgor get closer, Sszaler looksat him menacing, but it seems that he has little support from the tribe.

Felgor manages to examine Kroxigor: his wounds was tended somewhat and he's breathing, he's alive, but it looks diseased or poisoned. Felgor is able to help him as for rules for diseases/poisons, but there is something strange with the crocodile-man leader...

Perception check and knowledge(religion) checks, please :smallsmile:

[Starbin]

Felgor shook his head at the unicorn, muttering "I meant yer healin', not fightin' ..."

While the would-be chieftan hovered menancingly, it obviously didn't have the full support of the tribe and had to let the dwarf work. As Felgor studied the hurt crocodilian, he realized there was something else wrong, some malady that was unnatural.

Perception: [roll0]
KS - Religion: [roll1]

[Leriel]

Felgor shudders as he realizes that the flesh of the crocodile-man leader (not all, mainly the flesh of his right arm and leg) seems the flesh of an undead, like a zombie or a ghoul!

Kroxigor opens his eyes and utters some words. As he says "Lissa...", the female creature gets closer and speaks to him in their language. Kroxigor nods and begin to speak again, but he's blocked by a coughing fit. A foul liquid drops from his many-teethed mouth...

The other creatures seem scared and go off, while Sszaler get slowly closer, forcing himself to walk, his fists clenched, screaming "Manyleg! Manyleg!" He's mad!

[Starbin]

Touching his holy symbol, Felgor stood, looking between the necrotic flesh on the hurt crocadilian, and the one chanting 'manyleg.' Calling back to the others, he said, "Looks like one o' the undead infected this one!"

Looking to 'Lissa,' he spoke quickly. "What happened t'yer mate, lass? What touched him? What's a manyleg? Quickly!"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

After drinking about 1/3rd of her bottle of wine, listening in on the conversation, she get up and dusts herself off. She pays a bit more attention to her long hair, more so then her clothing.
She stretches a bit and leaves her bottle on the ground where she was sitting, still uncorked. Then she starts to wander towards the Unicorn.

"Pardon me Mr. Horned One, but if your lake has holy properties, wouldn't that help the Scaled Ones there? I mean-"

She brings out her waterskin.

"Couldn't I just take a small bit of that water, being (I guess) uncorrupted, and bring it to them? Then your lake will be fine, I'd get some water, and maybe the Scaled Ones will get healed or something."

Then she looks herself over.

"Or the Hairy One could get the water if I am corrupted. Heck if I know whether I'm corrupted or not. It's been a long day you know."

She starts laughing meniacly in an overdone way. Almost sarcastically imitating someone.

[Leriel]

@Ren: If you're trying to get the unicorn upset, you're doing it very well :smallsmile:

Yrriur looks at Ren:
"Hallowed is this water. Get some, lady, the water knows your hearth. Water will cure - if it's not late".

In the meantime, Lissa try to put herself between Kroxigor and Sszaler, but the big crocodile-man pushes her away. He manages to explain:
"Manyleg - big, manyleg! It do web! No live, no dead, spit! Many manyleg! Manyleg bit mate!"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Alright, alright."

Ren takes some water from the lake and hands the waterskin to Felgor.

"Here you go Hairy One, maybe this stuff can help or something..."

[Starbin]

Given the clue about a spider being the cause, can Felgor make another knowledge check? If so, feel free to make it for me - +6 w/history, arcana, nobility, and religion.

Felgor blinked, then smacked his own forehead. "Ack, I must be goin' daft! Good thinkin', lass!

Felgor nodded his thanks to the cat-lady, and handed the flask to Lissa. "Here, take some o' this water t'heal yer mate!"

[Leriel]

You lucky dwarf!
Felgor manages to remember that there are some very rare zombies that can infect living creatures with a disease called "zombie rot", but he never heard of spiders with such a terrible poison.

First of all - after seeing an armored cat-girl, Sszaler seems to stop - maybe he's not so sure to be able to overcome two strange and armored creatures...

Lissa takes the flask and make Kroxigor drink some sips...

A silver glowing surronds him. His colour changes and he looks more like the other crocodile-men. But...

His right arms and legs seems to be corroded by an acid - he screams in pain!

The silver glowing disappears, and Kroxigor stop screaming... he drop to the ground!

Lissa looks at him and then screams at Felgor:
"Murder!"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren takes a step back from the situations gives an awkward grin,

"Wasn't me (this time).

Hey Horned One, what's in that water that you said I could drink from? This stuff looks dangerous!"

[Leriel]

Yrriur neighs: "This water holy, beneficent and blessed by Corellon! It saves lives and vanquishes foul undead creatures!"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Undead stuff... okay."

She turns to Felgor,

"Well, 'Murderer', can you explain what happened here? Or if that Scaled One is actually dead and not just passed out."

She removes the cork she's been wearing from her clawed finger. And rolls it around in her hand.

"I wonder if this little event will lead to a fight? Oh boy it might lead to conflict. Diffuse the situation Hairy One. Diffuse it quickly if you wish."

She then rushes back to her Wine Bottle and places the cork on top.

[Starbin]

Well, that's cool ... or not. Try to help a bloke and get caught up in the ol' bait and switch. Also, I'm guessing Lissa called Felgor a 'murderer' in undercommon ... so to Ren it was probably more like "Ughnatcihst!" or something ... :smallsmile:

Looking to the fallen crocadilian, Felgor sighed, shaking his head. "Moradin gimme yer strength ..."

To the screaming Lissa, he held his hands up. "Nay, lassie, I dinnae kill him ... if'n I wanted his death, I coulda let yer friend over there do it. Or used me axe. Or let ye fight with the 'corn.

His body is fightin' ... he's ill and it's tryin' t'fight, but can't with ye caterwauling like that! So help me help him; if'n he's strong and ye believe, we kin save him!"

Since Felgor is not 100% sure what the real problem is, he'll trying to use his knowledge of healing and his abilities to help. First, he will give Krox a better chance at fighting off the disease - casting Resistance. Second, he will cast a cure if necessary. Third, he'll accept any help the unicorn has to offer.

"Cat and 'corn, ye'd be more helpful if'n ye can cure zombie rot ... tis beyond me own ability to cure."

Okay, Diplomacy: [roll0]; KS: Religion or Arcana (how to help zombie rot): [roll1]; Heal: [roll2]

That's about all I can do. Resistance will give Krox a +1 to any saves at least! Oh, and yes, I'm assuming the croc is not yet dead. :smallsmile:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Can't help you there."

She is standing away shrugging, balancing the Cork on top of the bottle with her foot.

[Leriel]

Ok let's recap it...
- "Murder" in undercommon is alarming similar to the common... it's pronunced like "Mardeth"...:smallwink: (this custom setting helps the plot a lot :smallwink:)
- Kroxigor dropped to the ground, but looking at him, Felgor sees that it's not dead (you were scared, aren't you? :smallbiggrin: I like doing it :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:)
- No tricks here... as Felgor can see, the holy water fighted the disease, but to cauterize the undead flesh was painful.
- Felgor was successful in his diplomacy - lucky one... :smallsmile:
- He's not sure about how to cure zombie rot, but it seems that the holy water worked (well, it worked too much well :smalltongue:)

The unicorn speaks with a stern voice:
"I trust the holy water. My life is devoted to it - as my father, grand father and my grand-grand father, Corellon bless him! If holy water cannot cure, the creature is beyond hope."

He raise its head and its horn starts to glow with the same silvery light:
"But I see the holy light - you all see. So the creature is alive and safe. Creature needs some cure..."
Suddenly the unicorn dips his horn into the water.

The silvery light surronds Kroxigor again - he opens his eyes and sits up, a little confused. There is no trace of wounds or whatever.

Lissa hugs him :smallsmile:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren finally re-corks her Wine before putting it away. She then moves up to Felgor and snatches the waterskin away. With a grimace, she passes the unicorn and refills the waterskin with more of the lake water before putting it away.
Standing next to the Unicorn, she gives a big sigh and asks him,

"So you knew the water could cure them, but you didn't let them drink?"

She then punches the Unicorn in the face.

"What in the 9 Hells is Wrong with You?!"

Unarmed Strike VS Unicorn's Flat-Footed AC (As he probably didn't see this coming)
Attack Roll (If necessary): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] Nonlethal

[Leriel]

Ouch! What a punch!

Yrriur staggers...

"Never they showed their ill one. Just launched a javelin to me."

He shakes his head and looks nervously Ren, in a (somewhat) angry way:

"Why should I allow you to give them this water... tell me. Think instead of hurting..."

[Starbin]

Heh, if one of those rolls was going to be good, I'm glad is was the Diplomacy check!
Felgor sighed as the former (Er, current), chieftain opened his eyes, obviously healed by the waters. With the tension released, he barely registered the cat-woman snatching her flask back. Concerned for the crocodilians, he bowed to the mates. "Good t'see ye survived. Next time, if'n ye ask the 'corn, ye may get better results. Do ye need anything else?"

Looking back to the pool, he caught the last bit of the exchange and stood open mouthed at the strike from the cat woman. "ARE YE DAFT, LASS? Mebbe ye should keep yer bottle corked if'n ye can't control yer liquor!"

At least the strike is non-lethal!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

She shakes her head in disappointment at the unicorn,

"You should be ashamed of yourself. A Horned One like you should know better than to believe a javelin being thrown by beings who aren't as bright would be a sign of fear. Especially when they are in such small numbers.
The Great Mother would be quite upset with your behavior Horned One. Though there is still the matter of the javelin."

She turns to Felgor,

"Hairy One, can you tell them not to throw before asking? I can only understand the word "Murder" in their language, so it makes it hard for me to converse with them."

[Starbin]

Felgor shook his head. "I did. But yer not practicin' what ye preach when ye hall off hittin' a 'corn! Try t'restrain herself!"

The dwarf would also check to make sure the unicorn doesn't need any healing from him, from the earlier wound.

[Leriel]

@Starbin: it was the Diplomacy in fact :smallsmile:

Yrriur seems to get angry with Ren:

"Ashamed?! Here I was, praying and thanking the gods.
They came, with loud voices, arguing among themselves, excited... No sign of hurt ones, or help I would have done. The big one hurled his weapon. I just stood here. No kill. No hurt. NO HURT!

And what are you doing, furry one? Beating me!"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Well you did seem to want me to get involved earlier. I thought you wanted me to hit someone?"

She gives him toothy smile.

"And that was just a love-tap. You'd know if I was beating you."

[Leriel]

Yrriur seems to calm down.

"Let's see if the creatures and the dwarf are fine. Maybe time is to understand".

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Fine, fine.

Hey Hairy One, did the Scaled Ones mention what caused the blight?"

[Leriel]

Yrriur (and Ren, I suppose) walk toward Felgor and the crocodile-men.

In the meantime Kroxigor was able to stand up. He looked at his wounds that were magically cured, he spoke a little with Lissa in their tongue and then start speaking to Felgor in undercommon.

"Me thank you, dwarf. Me Kroxigor, chief Saxarias tribe - great tribe, now small. Many kill. Manylegs killed. White monsters killed. No live, no dead."
Kroxigor closes his eyes for a moment, then continue:
"We live peace. Food good. Females good mates. One day other tribe speak - goblin tribe. No trust. Speak they go away, manylegs mad. We laugh - goblin fools.
"Manylegs come. White monster ride manylegs. Tribe no more.
"We escape. We no want females kill. Females need water, for lay eggs.
"Me feel ill. Me say Lissa: Lissa, find water.
"Me feel ill bad. Sszaler strong, Sszaler no bad, Sszaler hurt head. Sszaler no chief, but he want-want water.
"We do no good. We say sorry. We need help. We need water!"

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded as Kroxigor spoke. Turning to the approaching unicorn and cat-woman, he relayed what the chieftain had told him. "It seems there are strange creatures riding spiders that carry the zombie rot. And because they're eggs are close to hatching, these creatures need water. Let me see if I can help with that."

Back to the lizard folk, the dwarf spoke. "If'n ye need water, I kin give ye that. As much as ye need!"

Felgor can use create water to provide what they need ... we can even dig a hole, if they require standing water. Not sure if they require the holy properties of the unicorn's pool, but we'll see I guess!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Spiders. I wonder if they are pretty spiders or vicious spiders? I'd like to see a mixture of both to be honest. Beautiful creatures they are!"

She also thinks about something.

"Hmm, hey Hairy One? Do you want to help these guys out further by getting rid of their threat?
I'm all for natural selection and all, but I have a soft spot when it comes to protecting children or eggs in this case."

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded. "I'd like t'know more about these creatures riddin' the spiders. Can't be havin' zombie plagues all over th'place."

[Leriel]

Yrriur listen carefully at the report by Felgor.
"I like these spiders not. They are a danger. But I feel these scaly creatures need more help now.
Reptilians laying eggs need proper place - a swamp, a small river. I know such a place, I can take the tribe there, but help I need. A strange creature roams in that swamp - ugly one. So far my efforts were no enough to drive it away.
"Spiders are danger. Ugly is another danger.
"Lady cat right... I feel ashamed. I want to help Saxarias tribe."

Yrriur moves his tails a little nervous.

"It's up to you, gentle dwarf and lady cat."

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded, with a sigh. "Ye have me axe and faith, 'corn. What kin ye tell us about the beastie that lurks in th'swamp?"

I'm all for helping, but I'm hoping our other players will get to join in soon!

[Leriel]

Yrriur says: "It's a white, winged creature - but its wings no move. He floats near a cave, near the swamp. It has no arms, nor legs touch the gound. It has one green eye. It does not kill, but hurt a lot. I cannot hurt it, nor drive it away."
Yrriur seems disconsolate.

@Felgor and Ren: you never heard of such a creature!

Yrriur goes on: "If you all join hands, I can bring there in a blink of my eye. But safer for these poor crocodile-creatures to reach later."

In the meantime, Kroxigor makes a strange noise to get your attention (the equivalent of a human cough :smallsmile:):
"Good dwarf, help us? Water of one-horn save, water magic is, no good for eggs. Good dwarf show other water? Days two time my hand tribe walk away manylegs, tribe need water, tribe need rest..."
(He count to four on his 4-fingered hand) :smallsmile:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"One second Scaled Ones, we'll get rid of the threat first and the Horned One will help you out. That's if he upholds his word now. Right?"

Ren places a hand on Felgor's head.

"Good enough? My claws are a little to sharp to hold another hand. The Hairy One might get hurt... Which I guess the time is appropriate to ask.
What is your name Hairy One? My name is Ren The Sharp. If you refer to me, call me by my title and not my name."

[Starbin]

Felgor took the information in stride, trying to keep the three conversations separate. After listening to the Yrriur, Kroxigor, and Ren, he paused, then spoke.

"Yrriur, these folks be need in' help now. Kin they have a night to rest and such at yer pool? Me water helps 'em not, mores the pity.". To the crocodilians, he said, "Kin I have yer word o treat the 'corn's place as holy? We be head in' t'find ye a new swampy home."

To Ren, he simply frowns. "Wait, o ye want to be called The Sharp, and not Ren? Uh ... Whatever cleans yer fur. I be Felgor Stoneheart, Rune-brother o' Moradin. Call me what ye please, but Felgor will do."

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Yep, and if you call me by my first name without permission, I'll cut you."

She squeezes Felgor's head a bit. While giving him a big smile,

"I hope we have an understanding Mr. Stoneheart."

[Starbin]

Felgor raised an eye at the catwoman. She was more flighty and capricious than any non-dwarf he'd ever met. Shrugging his shoulders at her threat, he simply waited for Kroxigor and Yrruir to answer his questions.

"Agin, whatever tickles yer fancy, lass."

[Leriel]

Kroxigor bites one of his fingers (boys, his mouth has many teeth...) and traces a line on his forehead with the blood.
"Me promise. You save me - me life is your. This place holy. We rest and we pray gods!"
Then he bows, he turns to the tribe and starts speaking to his people with a stern voice, in their strange language :smalltongue:

Yrriur replies to Felgor:
"The crocodile-men can safe rest here, until the new place for them is safe, too. I trust that together we can drive away the ugly creature!"

"The sharp cat lady is ready. Good Felgor - I am ready to use the magic of the pool to teleport us to the swamp. Just at your will."

[Starbin]

Felgor strode over and checked on his mule, making sure Stubborn was okay. Grabbing a huge, well-made crossbow, he returned to the unicorn and cat-woman. To Kroxigor, he warned "Dinnae go eating me mule!". To Yrriur, he bowed and said, "Ready, 'corn."

[Leriel]

Yrriur ensures that Ren and Felgor are in contact, then gets near the dwarf and makes him put his hand to his body.

Yrriur raise his head and you can see the silver light that you know well :smallgrin:

In an instant, everything changes.

First of all, a new smell - the same of crocodile-creatures. Then, as the slight dizziness of teleport passes, you see the swamp: a virgin and lush place, with lots of trees and small streams, and a lot of mud :smallgrin:

You have arrived in an open area without trees, the ground dry enough.

At the center of the clearing you see a huge spike of rock.

But the most disturbing presence, which is about 3 meters (10 feet) and floating in the air is this:

http://mojoimage.com/free-image-hosting-11/5837Strange_Creature.jpg (http://www.mojoimage.com/)

While you look at it, you see a rat moving toward the rocky spike. Suddenly, an head with no features emerges from the center of the creature, with a large green eye, which projects a thin green ray to the rat. The rat screams in pain and runs away.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren steps forward a bit, but remains away from where the rat crossed to be on the safe side.

"Well hey there beautiful, what are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

Epic Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Leriel]

@Ren: You cannot understand if the creature did not hear you or just ignored you.

Nevertheless, it's moving in some random way across the area.

[Starbin]

As his eyes cleared and he took in the scene, Felgor frowned at the wrongness of the floating creature. But from what Yrriur had described, he wasn't convinced it was evil - the confrontration with the crocadilian's had proven true the old adage of judging a tome by it's front page.

The cat-woman surprised him by engaging the thing with words instead of claws ... apparently should could use restraint when necessary. But the thing continued to float around, ignoring the cat-woman's words.

Keeping his axe in hand, Felgor murmured words of power, entreating his lord to empower his weapon. A faint glow emitted from his symbol, and the weapon became magic in nature.

EDIT: Cast Magic Weapon - lasts 4 minutes (forgot Divine Smith ability)

However, in his preparation, he did not act aggressively towards the creature. He simply wondered what it was. Given how it was acting, perhaps it was not a 'creature,' per se, but some sort of guardian. It seemed to only attack when things neared it ... or maybe the spire ...

KS (Arcana): [roll0] To determine what this thing is
KS (Religion): [roll1] Ditto ...
Spellcraft: [roll2] To determine what the ray was
Sense Motive: [roll3] To figure out what this thing is doing

Spells0 - Detect Magic, Create Water, Guidance, Resistance
1 - Magic Weapon, Lead Blades, Protection from Evil
2 - Heat Metal, Resist Energy
Domain - Animate Rope, Wood Shape

[Leriel]

@Felgor: You cannot find out what's this creature, nor recognize the ray. But one thing is sure: it's not a living being. Its wings resemble the wings of a bird, but they are not made by feathers. They seems more... made of some metals.

Also it's floating - there is no movement of the wings.

And about the spire... you are not sure, but it could be.

Also... Yrriur said that the creature is ugly, not bad.

[Starbin]

Oh, I realize the unicorn never said evil ... neither did Felgor! He felt a wrongness - this 'construct' or whatever doesn't feel natural, so I figured that was okay. Also, based on how Yrruir explained it, he didn't think it was evil (even if it looks a little discomforting). So that's why he's not charging into combat.

Stepping forward, Felgor approached the spire cautiously. He estimated how far the rat was from the spire when the winged thing struck, and paced forward about that far. Calling out, he asked, "Permission to approach yer spire!" Then he repeated the question in dwarven, giant, and undercommon.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Welp, best approach it."

Ren walks up to the creature.

[Starbin]

As Ren walks forward, Felgor warns her, "Lass, I dinnae think it's a creature ... it dinnae look living, but made out o' metal and such. 'Ware yerself and wait a moment ..."

[Leriel]

The floating creatures seems to ignore Ren...

Wait! Suddenly its head appears again! The eye get bigger and a ray (larger than the one that hit the rat) hits Ren!

@Ren: 4 non lethal damage. It's a magical attack and it ignores your DR. It's painful... even if you got hurt really worse in the past, this ir really painful!

[Starbin]

Shaking his head at Ren's impatience, Felgor tries to at least learn more about the thing as it attacks. He notes the point at which it activated, gauges the distance between Ren and the floating thing AND Ren and the spire. He looks around to see if there is anyone or anything controlling it. finally, he tries to determine if this is a construct.

So, guessing the thing ignored Felgor's announcement (which doesn't surprise me too much). Trying to gather data to make n assessment on how to stop/disable/deal with this thing. Hoping that Felgor's relationship to constructs (artifice domain) might give him some kind of insight.

Looking at the rock, where he guessed the cave Yrriur spoke if was located, Felgor thought of an idea. "Mebbe we kin distract the thing, so as one o' us kin git t'the rock. Lass, are ye a sneaker? D'ye have talent in moving quietly? Me and the 'corn kin try and pull it's attention t'one side while ye make for the rock ..."

[Leriel]

@Starbin: OK, Felgor now has an idea of distances among rock, creature and Ren's position before attack. He can see no one controlling it.
I'm not requiring silly checks - Felgor can say that this is a construct of some sort :smallsmile:

Nevertheless, Felgors need to get his plan in motion in order to get more info about the winged creature.

@Chained Birds: Before replying to Felgor, please let me know if Ren steps back after being hit from the ray or whatever :smalltongue:
Also please make a perception check for Ren.

Yrriur neighs and says to Felgor:
"Everything to stop the creature for hurting creatures with its beam! I cannot allow this!"

[Starbin]

Felgor raised a hand to Yrriur. "Aye, 'corn, we'll do our best turn this thing off; but tis a constuct o' some sort. Like a flyin' golem ... guardin' this area for some reason."

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Perception Check: [roll0]

Ren steps back for a moment and looks around.

Edit: Ren doesn't really care about the surroundings and wonders why she was looking around to begin with.

[Leriel]

Ok, so Ren stepped back to a safer position. The creature's head is no more visible - and it continues to float as before.

@Ren: mmm... a natural 1... what a pity :smalltongue:

[Starbin]

With the construct returning to what Felgor thought of as 'patrol' mode, he repeated the question the cat-woman might have missed earlier.


"Mebbe we kin distract the thing, so as one o' us kin git t'the rock. Lass, are ye a sneaker? D'ye have talent in moving quietly? Me and the 'corn kin try and pull it's attention t'one side while ye make for the rock ..."

The dwarf waited for the others to respond.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren grabs a rock and throws it at the thing.

Rock VS Construct
- Attack: [roll0]
- Damage: [roll1]

[Leriel]

The creature floats away a second before the rock could hit it. It doesn't seem that it wanted to avoid it - just moved away with its strange floating (sudden moving in random way).

[Leriel]

Yrriur neighs. Seems that he's a nervous unicorn :smallsmile:

"Lady, I tried to push the flying creature away, even tried to hurt him with my hooves, but no success..."

Yrriur speaks again to Felgor:

"It's making me mad. I cannot stand that it hurts little creatures! Swamp not safe for them!"

Then he snorts:
"Good Felgor, if our furry friend don't listen, tell me what you want me to do..."

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren cracks her neck and knuckles. She gets into a sprinting pose and lines herself up with the creature blocking the entrance. As she readies herself, her hair turns a bright crimson as her muscles and body grow visibly.

"Move Aside!"

Ren jets forth attempting to run through the creature and get to the other side.

Free Action: Enter Rage (12/13)
Move Action: Move 30ft through Creature's space.
Standard Action: Overrun VS Creature's CMD (Or FCMD if it didn't see this coming)
- CMB Check: [roll0]
- If 5 Higher than Creature's CMD/FCMD then it if knocked Prone.

If she fails to get by Creature, Ren will be right next to it with claws at the ready.

[Starbin]

Felgor turned to Yrriur to outline his plan of distracting the construct when the cat-woman decided to take things into her own hands. Without consulting the others. Again.

With a grunt of frustration, he turned to the unicorn. "Quick, 'corn, since yer faster than me own legs, get yerself around to the other side. The winged guardian will prolly attack the crazy cat-woman, and ye might make it t'the cave. I'll be seein' how many targets it kin focus on ..."

Felgor readies himself to cut for the outcropping once the winged thing was focused on Ren. His plan was to have the unicorn approach from the far side, hopefully out of sight from the guardian. Time would tell if this plan worked ...

[Leriel]

@Chained Birds - this is a good move!

The creature does not seem to see Ren until she's really near - the strange head appears again and it zaps two rays quickly. The first hits Ren (4 nonlethal damage), but then Ren jumps on the creature and she's able to bash it on the ground! The second ray misses her :smallsmile:

In the meantime the unicorn runs fast - he's on the opposite side of the opening, at a safe position (at least, he thinks so).

[Chained Birds]

Ren

With claws outstretched and her long red hair flowing around her, she gives the fallen creature a sinister smile.

"Poor thing, let me put you out of your misery."

As she speaks, some of her long hair coils above her head in a spiral fashion. After uncoiling and falling back to their normal position, they are replaced by two large fiendish horns. But there isn't much time to admire her new protrusions as she engages the downed creature in a flurry of slashes, stabs, and bites.

Full-Round Action: Full-Attack + Power Attack VS Prone Creature (If Actually Prone)
- Claw1 Attack: [roll0]
- Damage: [roll1]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll2]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll3]

- Claw2 Attack: [roll4]
- Damage: [roll5]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll6]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll7]

- Bite Attack: [roll8]
- Damage: [roll9]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll10]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll11]

- Gore Attack: [roll12]
- Damage: [roll13]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll14]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll15]

[Leriel]

AWESOME!

Ren unleashes her fury against the fallen creature, tearing and piercing its wings. A powerful attack indeed!

And bonus XP for you for the description

But... under the astonished gaze of Ren, the wounds of the creature start to heal. The metal seems to grow like mortal flesh - the holes in the wings are getting smaller, until they close... and its head is pointing again versus Ren!

In game terms - all of you, you have a free round. Then the creature will be able again to zap its rays.

[Starbin]

With the unicorn on the other side of the clearing, Felgor turned his attention towards the winged guardian and his unpredictable companion. After charging, the cat-woman had gone wild - flailing, clawing and biting at the winged construct. He could hear the screeching and tearing of metal, the sound piercing his ears painfully, and tufts of feathers drifted to the ground ... a testimony to the fury of the cat-lady.

Jogging forward, Felgor readied his axe - since Ren had forced their hand, there was nothing left but to disable this thing as quickly as possible. But as he neared the two combatants, he was surprised to find the construct, appeared fully healed, despite the ferocity of the cat-woman's attack. Blinking, he stood opposite the cat-woman and brought his axe down quickly, hoping his magic-infused blade would damage the contrust.

Attack: [roll0] ... add +2 if Felgor gains a flank bonus; I guess a -4 to the creature's AC, if still prone.
Damage: [roll1]

And there's the SECOND natural one for an attack today (in another game).


His blow having fallen, the dwarf glanced up at the woman and was stunned by the drastic change to her appearance, who no longer looked like a simple cat-woman, but some sort of demonic version of her former self.

"By Moradin's beard! What in th'Nine Bowels o' the Abyss happened t'ye!" Gripping his axe, he now wondered if sending the unicorn to the far side had been such a good idea ...

@Chained Birds - I'm not sure I could recreate the mechanics, but however Ren did four attacks for that much damage is pretty impressive!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"I guess we'll have to break it faster than it can heal."

She forms a very vicious looking fighting stance before continuing her onslaught of blows. A bite at the creature's wing to hold it in place. Two claws to rake the creature chest and abdominal area. And kicking off from the construct before attempting to deliver a brutal gore with one of her horns.

Full-Round Action: Full-Attack + Power Attack VS Prone Creature (If Actually Prone)
- Claw1 Attack: [roll0]
- Damage: [roll1]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll2]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll3]

- Claw2 Attack: [roll4]
- Damage: [roll5]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll6]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll7]

- Bite Attack: [roll8]
- Damage: [roll9]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll10]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll11]

- Gore Attack: [roll12]
- Damage: [roll13]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll14]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll15]

[Leriel]

@Chained Birds: Ok, even if I could not find it in the rules, it's OK that Ren has a bite attack. So I assume you're following "Natural Attack" rules from here (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/combat.html#natural-attacks). But can you please explain me how do you calculate the attack bonus and damage bonus?

The once "beautiful" winged creature is a shadow of its former self - it looks broken, teared, fallen in disgrace.

Nevertheless, its wounds continues to heal with surprising speed. Metal feathers (stripped from it by the vicious attacks of the catfolk) start moving and getting closer to it. And the magic of the creature lets it arise again - it's still floating!

Its head did not disappear during the attacks of its opponents. And the green eye focuses again, and again! - zapping two big dark green rays vs Ren and Felgor (for 8 non lethal damage to both).

EDIT: both of you also hear something like a high frequency noise, one instant before the creature zaps the rays. It's like a buzzing beehive.

[Starbin]

Grunting in pain, Felgor slide to the side, placing the construct directly between himself and the cat-woman. Embarrassed by his horrible swing previously, he attacked again, bringing the longaxe down in a chopping motion.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
EDIT: Dang ... almost minimum damage. Note, axe is currently magical (if that makes a difference)

HPs: 23/23 (8 non-lethal)

[Leriel]

The damage dealt by the axe (even if it's a magical weapon!) is quickly healed by the creature - the wound quickly disappears.
Felgor never saw such a creature. He remembers something about golems... but flying ones?

[Starbin]

"Interestin' ... a metal beastie that's nae alive, but still heal's itself? I cannae wait to take it apart ..."

When it's Felgor's turn again, he will close to within 5' and try to attack again, this time using his Artifice Domain ability - with a successful melee touch attack, he can deal 1d6+1 damage that bypasses 3 damage reduction and hardness (if applicable)

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Too bad we can't find a weakness for this thing.
Hey Horned One, do you know how this creature is able to heal itself?"

Although Ren has been hit the most by his creature, she shows little sign of fatigue or stopping her barrage of blows. Though her lax attitude seems to reduce the ensusiasm in her attacks.

Full-Round Action: Full-Attack + Power Attack
- Claw1 Attack: [roll0]
- Damage: [roll1]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll2]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll3]

- Claw2 Attack: [roll4]
- Damage: [roll5]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll6]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll7]

- Bite Attack: [roll8]
- Damage: [roll9]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll10]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll11]

- Gore Attack: [roll12]
- Damage: [roll13]
- Crit Attack (20): [roll14]
- Crit Damage (x3): [roll15]

[Leriel]

The question of Ren is lost in the noises of the battle - or maybe the unicorn is just too far.

Again, the magic of the creature heals it... and again, the buzzing sound preceded the rays, that hit Felgor and Ren (7 and 6 nonlethal damage, in that order).

Since Felgor already declared his action:
he manages to touch the creature. And as soon as he uses his Artifice power...

PM!

[Leriel]

...ok, Felgor touched the creature.

It harmed it somewhat - the stamp of Felgor's hand is like a black tattoo on one of the wings. But it does not seem to have harmed it too much!

Felgor also feels a little ashamed.

[Starbin]

Felgor blinked as his sight seemed to clear, glancing distractedly at the black mark his hand had left on the winged thing. What he had seen was ... distressing, and left him feeling somewhat responsible. He had been committed to aiding the unicorn in solving this conundrum previously; if it was possible, he was more so now. Glancing at the cat-woman, he looked to the direction of the cave and grunted, "The cave be the answer, lass, and we be needin' Ren th'Swift, not Ren th'Sharp!"

When he could, Felgor would disengage and head for the cave at his top speed, which was a steady trot for a dwarf.

Hopefully I'm not misunderstanding ... there was a cave in the outcropping, right?

[Leriel]

There is a cave - Yrriur told it (and he can see it, BTW).

It's on Yrriur's side.

Felgor can disengage when he wishes - just let me know what direction he wants to follow.

You are here:

http://i.imgur.com/ZIdIJ.jpg

[Starbin]

Felgor backed away and sprinted towards the cave ... a full sprint for anyone else, but the fastest past the short-legged, encumbered dwarf could manage.

He had to get to the cave and find out if his fears were true ...

Forty feet in the direction of the cave :smallsmile:

[Leriel]

@Felgor: In one round Felgor can reach the spire. Then he needs another round to reach the opposite site.

So: Round 1, Felgor touched the creature
Need to know what Ren will do :smallwink:
Creature will do something

Round 2, Felgor run to the rocky spire
Need to know what Ren will do :smallwink:
Creature will do something

Round 3, we will see :smalltongue:

We are still at Round 2, Ren's turn.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Shrugging,

"Oh Well. Later buddy."

She rushes into the creature, attempting to overrun it.

Move Action: Move 30ft towards the cave.
Standard Action: Overrun VS Creature's CMD
- CMB: [roll0]
- If CMB is 5 higher than the Creature's CMD, then Creature is knocked Prone.

She jumps on top of the creature with cat-like grace, and kicks off the Construct moving towards the cave. She laughs as she does it.

[Leriel]

Again, Ren bash the creature on the ground. The winged guardian shots again its rays to the sky (BTW, it's getting dark - we are near sunset).

Felgor and Ren manage to reach the spire. While they are starting to reach the opposite side of it, two huge greens rays nearly blast them (they manage to avoid the full impact due to fact that the creature had no time to aim properly - just being touched inflicts 8 nonlethal damage to Felgor and 8 to Ren).

The unicorn sees them and shouts:
"Get some cover - I'll protect you!"
And he runs in the direction of the creature, putting himself between you and it.

Finally now you can see the entrance of the cave... you feel really bad... the latest rays were painful...

The entrance is small (more or less 5 fts wide and 7 fts high). There is a gallery going down. It's dark.

[Starbin]

Okay, so to be clear - we were hit for 8 a piece and that was a grazing shot? Yeesh! That puts good ol' Felgor at ... ZERO!

That last shot catches Felgor in the back. It felt like his nerves had all exploded in pain at the same time, locking up his muscles in searing agony. With a roar of pain, he staggered around the spire to get out of the line of fire, stumbling next to the entrance as his head spun. Being a warrior and a blacksmith, he was no stranger to pain. However, no forge burn or hammer blow had quite felt like that did.

Trying to catch his breath, he knew that without healing, he would soon pass out from the unbelievable pain. It seemed he would have to call upon Moradin to lend him strength ...

"Stone father, please give me strength t'carry on ... there be evil afoot and mockeries o' machinery that need be destroyed. Heal me wounds that I kin do what ye need me t'do ..."

Guess I'll need to spontaneously cast a heal spell, before I get hit with another one of those ... i think I'll lose Resist energy for a cure moderate wounds ... [roll0]

EDIT: WHEW! Up to 18/23 (non-lethal damage 5)
Spells
0 - Detect Magic, Create Water, Guidance, Resistance
1 - Magic Weapon, Lead Blades, Protection from Evil
2 - Heat Metal, Resist Energy
Domain - Animate Rope, Wood Shape

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren stopped her Rage after she Overran the Construct.

Ren's horns disappeared as she reached the Unicorn's side. Panting from her surge of emotions, her Red hair turns a Pink hue.

"Wow! That was fun!"

[Leriel]

@Felgor: lucky dwarf, I rolled some 1's for the damages of latest ray... the guardian is not a loser, but the DM is not lucky :smallwink:

Ok, Felgor and Ren are in front of the cave's entrance. They're still gasping - when they hear the unicorn neighing in pain.

What they can see in front of them is a gallery, that makes its way under the rock, going down in a steep way.

[Starbin]

Felgor called out to the unicorn, "Lead it away and git herself free, 'corn!". Then, with his pain now tolerable, he turned to enter the gallery and follow the path down. With his axe in hand, and eyes scanning the way forward, into the cave he trumped.

Perception check: [roll0]

[Leriel]

@Felgor: Ok, Felgor can see with no problem in the darkness of the tunnel. The entrance of the gallery is natural - but after some steps, Felgor realizes that it was dug by someone - trying to hide the fact that it's artificial.

[Starbin]

Felgor stopped as he entered the tunnel, peering at the sides. With a snort, he glanced back at the cat-woman. "Tis a decent job, but this be no natural cavern ... see these marks? Made by a pickaxe, or I be a halfling's uncle. Nay, someone wanted us t'believe this be a normal cave, but we be walkin' inta a lair ..."

Gripping his axe, he continued, muttering to himself. "And it lookin' like it might be fer one o' me kin ..."

[Chained Birds]

Ren

After resting for a few seconds, Ren's hair turns back to its normal white sheen.

"Hmm, I guess that might be troublesome for you to fight your own kind. Though I haven't met many Catfolk throughout my travels so I can't really empathize with you. Oh well, let's head into an obvious trap now."

Ren still appears to be quite injured though her personality doesn't let on.

[Leriel]

Ok you enter on the cave and go on for some feet. Felgor has darkvision, but Ren just low-light vision.
Can I assume that Felgor casts Light?

[Starbin]

Ok you enter on the cave and go on for some feet. Felgor has darkvision, but Ren just low-light vision.
Can I assume that Felgor casts Light?

OOC - I'd love to do that ... but Felgor didn't memorize it :smallsmile: I tried to pick things that a dwarf traveling solo would need and light didn't seem to make sense. He has flint & steel and tindertwigs, if we have a lightable object ...

[Leriel]

Ok let's wait for Ren describing what she want to do - maybe she trust the dwarf enough to take her in darkness :smallwink: or providing something to light.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

The Catfolk looks upon the nothingness.

"I can't see anything... At least my nose works..."

[Starbin]

Felgor sighed, knowing that if only he had prepared for meeting someone who could not see in the dark, they would be better off. Frowning, he glanced around the entryway, then checked his pack.

"All ah've got, lass is me bedroll. It'll burn fer a bit, but prolly not long enough t'matter. D'ye want t'risk running out to get yerself a couple o' big sticks, and I kin light them? Or d'ye wish t'trust me eyes and yer nose?"

Aside from using Felgor's bedroll, sticks from outside, or any rags Ren might have, Felgor's got no other ideas to help for now. Once Ren's good, we'll press forward into the cave.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Meh, no worries. I've been through darkness before. Just make sure I don't walk off a cliff and I'll be fine."

Ren does have a great nose, so anything that exudes a scent would catch her attention even in the pitch-black nothingness of this cave. Though holes and large rocks to stumble over might catch her off guard.

[Leriel]

Ok, Ren and Felgor go on descending in the darkness of the tunnel. It's going down - but luckily they encounter no sharp rocks or big holes. Sometimes their way is light by some strange phosphorescent moss, sometimes they disturb some bats... but they manage to go on, boldly.

They carefully walk for about 20 minutes... then they see a blue light. The tunnel makes a corner to the left... and this blue light is after the corner. It's a light strong enought to illuminate the wall at your right.

What do you want to do?

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren takes this opportunity to look around the area to get a feel for the environment and hopefully find the cause of the light.

Perception: [roll0]
- Also using the Scent ability to detect any creatures within the area.

[Leriel]

@Ren: No new smells in the area - only the smell of humidity of the tunnel.

The tunnel's walls are humid, with some moss on it. The source of the light is after the corner - tell me if you want to go ahead...

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren is almost knocked out with no chance of recovery on her own, so of course she ventures into the unknown with a big greeting smile and a bottle of wine. :smallsmile:

[Leriel]

Ren

Ren is almost knocked out with no chance of recovery on her own, so of course she ventures into the unknown with a big greeting smile and a bottle of wine. :smallsmile:

This is a master move :smalltongue:

Ren steps forward, wanting to find out the origin of the light...
After the corner she sees that the light comes from a broken gem - a big, blue broken gem... as large as the gem of the creature that she and Felgor faced before.
And there is not just the gem... there are pieces of metal scattered... pieces of metal resembling wings, feathered wings...
Finally, an open coffer lies a the end of the tunnel - right, you reached the end of it!

[Starbin]

well, I wasn't delaying to get you to go ... Just hadn't posted yet. Besides, since she's not letting on, Felgor assumes she's just be pretty tough.

Felgor could tell the light was getting brighter, but wasn't sure if it was more moss or something else. Seeing Ren step forward, he sighed to himself and followed. Ach, no fear in that one ... but I be wondrin' if there be any sense up there?

[Leriel]

@Felgor: don't worry - I let Ren go ahead since I knew that she would do so :smallwink: I did not wait for your post on purpose.

Nevertheless... you see the same scenario as her :smallbiggrin:

[Starbin]

Felgor frowned in surprise, the look on his face clearly indicating that he expected something else. He stepped forward, glancing at the gem, but focused on the scattered items. Extra materials, or the remains of another guardian?

Perception check and such on the stuff, then gem. Felgor probably wouldn't notice the coffer just yet.

[roll0]

EDIT: this seems to happen a lot. Let me know when I've found my eyes ...apparently I dropped them somewhere! :smallbiggrin:

[Leriel]

@Felgor: Oh my! :smalltongue: I'll assume that Felgor takes 20 (no need to hurry...)
Felgor identified six broken parts - broken wings in fact. According to the damage on them, these seem to be the remains of a broken guardian. Maybe this one had a blue eye instead of a green one.

[Starbin]

Whew ... I forgot that we had enough time for taking 20.

Felgor grunted to himself, mumbling as he went through the various parts he had found. "Hmmm ... tis interestin' how this attaches ... ach, is that a double u-joint? ... sets in here fer added range o' motion ..."

Shaking his head, he looked up at Ren. "Tis a strange golem, but lookin' like a twin o' the one outside. 'Ceptin' the blue gem, o' course. What be in the box, lass?" Felgor wandered over to the gem, checking it out.

Okay, so is knowledge of the omen gems pretty common amongst the dwarves? If so, would we know the difference between a green and blue one? Just trying to figure out if Felgor would have any idea of what these gems are or what their presence might mean ... right now, he's leaning towards the being mystical power sources.

Any other skill checks Felgor can make to see if there is a weakness for these guardians?

[Leriel]

Ok, it's a common knowledge (not only for dwarves) that the "omen gems" are small green gems, with a rune inscribed on them. This blue gem (as the one on the head of the other creature) are bigger, much bigger (think at these as small crystall ball used by mediums :smallwink:)
So far Felgor can think that these gems are somewhat a source of energy for these creatures, but he can just make hypothesis about "weakness" (he already did several skill checks, sorry :smalltongue:)

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"So this thing is like the thing outside. Ah!... I don't get it.
So, do we break it or something?"

[Starbin]

Felgor shook his head, slightly. "Ah'm not positive, lass, but ah'm thinkin' the weak link might be the central 'face' ... could be it be powered by one o' those prophecy gems. Just not sure what a blue one means ..."

Glancing at the end of the tunnel, the dwarf pointed to the coffer. "Let's see what else be here, lass. If'n we're lucky, there'll be a manual!

Time to search the coffer, I suppose!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

With nothing else to do, Ren grabs the Green and Blue gems.

"I'm not leaving empty-handed."

[Leriel]

(suggested background music: Empire Theme from Star wars)

After the last sentence of Ren, a disembodied voice fills the area...
"Creature one identified as dwarf.
Creature two identified as catfolk.
No other creatures identified.
Portal activated as for instruction."

A circle made of white light appears on the floor... a six-pointed star is inscribed in it.

[Starbin]

Felgor opened his mouth to suggest caution to the cat-woman when the disembodied voice spoke, and the white circle appeared. Blinking, he stared for a moment at the star, wondering what had just happend.

KS (Arcana): [roll0]
Spellcraft: [roll1]

"Ah'm guessin' ye be wantin' t'step on th'star, lass, but let's think fer a moment first ..."

Yeah, like Felgor will keep Ren from leaping first and asking questions later :smallbiggrin:

[Leriel]

@Felgor: what a pity, the spellcraft check was too low...

Felgor cannot identify the nature of the circle, but he's confident that it's something created by a powerful spellcaster (otherwise, he would have been able to identify it).

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"What?! Sir. Voice, could you explain the location in where this circle goes? Or am I speaking out loud to a cave?...."

She says as she pretends like she is going to step on the star, but instead leaps backwards before her foot is over the circle.

OOC:asking questions first and leaping later

[Leriel]

The voice speaks no more...

[Starbin]

Frowning, Felgor pointed to the front of the cave. "I cannae tell where this goes, but the 'corn may be needin' our help outside. Let's deal wit dat, first, lass."

Sure, I'm curious, but Felgor won't leave the unicorn to be 'pain-beamed' unconscious out there.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"I hate speaking to caves. They never call back... Not even an echo. Oh well, let's take our loot and leave. Maybe that thing is no longer working seeing as we took the shinies."

Are the gems still glowing?

[Leriel]

@Ren: The only gem in the cave is the broken blue one (that's still glowing). When I wrote to Felgor about "the green gem", I was referring at the one on the creature outside (and generally speaking, about the color of the gems found by you and by Victor, Shefri and Lao). So there is just one gem, take it if you want - but it's broken :smallwink:

EDIT: I suppose you're going outside... I don't want to lose time, so I describe what's happening:
After 10 fts, Ren finds herself unable to go ahead... to explain better, she cannot manage to move the blue gem farther :smallwink: she can move her body in the direction of the exit, but the gem will move no more (think as if there is a wall preventing it to move outside: Ren can move it up and down, right and left, but not in the direction of the exit).

[Starbin]

Felgor reached the exit and peeked out, looking for the flying thing or the unicorn. He would edge himself around the spire, trying to keep the cover of the rocks between him and the construct, but he's very concerned about the state of their adhoc ally

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren tries her hardest to get the gem out, even bracing herself against a side of the cave wall (Climbing if necessary to get the most advantageous position). She puts a lot of effort into getting the gem out, but she doesn't expect much to come of it...

"...so...is...that thing...still...around?..."

[Leriel]

@Felgor: Felgor leaves Ren trying to move the gem - the 20 minutes walk is really shorter alone in the dark (I suppose he's trying to move fast - it takes about 5 minutes to go out, now). Coming near the exit, Felgor can see the unicorn at the border of the clearing - crouching, but alive (Felgor can see him moving).

The thing is still there! Felgor barely manages to avoid another huge green ray, directed at the ground just outside the cave.

Finally, the dwarf hears in a distance the question of his furry ally :smallsmile:

[Starbin]

Felgor stared at Ren for a few moments, while she struggled to pull the gem forward, but to no avail. Lass, ye might as well push on th'floor and try t'move the earth. We should be checkin' on he 'corn."

Fast forward to the entrance, assuming she comes along eventually.

Felgor spotted the unicorn across the clearing when Ren asked about the creature. A huge green beam struck the ground in front of the cave, just missing him. He called wryly over his shoulder, "Aye, it's still there ..."

Returning to the safety (?) of the cave entrance, he looked at the cat-woman. "Ye ready fer another go? This time, we try'n go fer the green center o' the golem."

If Ren agrees, Felgor will call out the plan to the unicorn, asking for healing support and aid in taking down the thing. He'll also cast lead blades before they attack ... So let's see what Ren says :smallsmile:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"I guess... Though if I take one hit I'd probably be knocked out."

[Starbin]

Felgor glanced back at the cat appraisingly, then nodded. "If'n ye wait just a moment ..." Concentrating for a moment, Felgor murmured a few words of power and waved his left hand, the right one holding his symbol tightly. A glow started in his hand and traveled forth to the catwoman as he reached forward to heal her.

[roll0] Losing Heat Metal in order to cast Cure Moderate wounds.

"Ye ready now, lass?"

Felgor will cast lead blades on his weapons and move out with Ren, calling out to the unicorn to coordiate their attacks.
Spells:
0 - Detect Magic, Create Water, Guidance, Resistance
1 - Magic Weapon, Lead Blades, Protection from Evil
2 - Heat Metal, Resist Energy
Domain - Animate Rope, Wood Shape

[Leriel]

Ok I'll assume that Ren get bored trying moving the gem and follows Felgor :smallwink:

Felgor manages to speak (well, more shouting than speaking) to Yrriur.

The unicorn says that he can get near the creature in order to distract it - he can endure a couple of rays - but that Felgor and Ren must be quick trying their plan. He suggest you to retreat to the cave if you have problems (you're more close to the cave, BTW).

If it's OK for all, declare actions and roll initiative :smallsmile:

[Starbin]

After healing Ren, Felgor gripped his axe and nodded towards the winged construct. "If'n yer ready, lass, mebbe ye kin do th'trick where ye knock it down agin."

Peeking out, he raised his voice to reach the unicorn. "Ready yerself, 'corn ... we'll charge when ye distract it!"

Initiative: [roll0]
Hold until the unicorn distracts the construct. I figure Ren will end up going first, but Felgor will go as soon as he can.
Action - Felgor plans on charging the beastie, and will take any flanking benefits he can get.

[Leriel]

OK for the plan, I'm waiting for Ren :smallwink:
If I understood correctly, Felgor wants to hit the green gem. If so, let's consider it as a called shot (-4 to hit). If Ren bash the creature prone, the +4 bonus apply BTW :smallcool:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Yes, Ren did get bored of the gem, so she just placed it on a nearby rock and smashed it with a claw attack. Though she didn't expect to break it or anything.
[roll0] Damage

After healing up a fair chunk of the damage she was inflicted, Ren listened in on the plan.

"So, you just want me to run that thing over? I guess that's okay..."

There is a sense of boredom in her tone as she says that and walks back into the cave without saying another word.

[Starbin]

Felgor frowned at the cat-woman, who now seemed despondent. "Aye, lass, like ye did the first time. O' course, this time, go after the green 'face' when it shows ... might be th'weak point o' this thing."

[Chained Birds]

Ren

There is no response from the cave. In fact, Ren has walked farther then Felgor's darkvision can travel. Where is she going? :smallamused:

[Leriel]

Ren

There is no response from the cave. In fact, Ren has walked farther then Felgor's darkvision can travel. Where is she going? :smallamused:

Ren... Feel free to PM me if you're planning something :smallwink:

[Starbin]

OOC - okay, confused again ... I thought we had already gone past the gem and were at the entrance (some 20 minutes away from the gem) and calling out planes. So there's no place for Ren to wander to, except outside. The timing seems very important, especially since we have a will-o-wisp for one of the characters :smallbiggrin:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

While walking further into the cave, she grabs the gem she was playing with and walks even further. She likes having a light source.

[Leriel]

OOC:


OOC - okay, confused again ... I thought we had already gone past the gem and were at the entrance (some 20 minutes away from the gem) and calling out planes. So there's no place for Ren to wander to, except outside. The timing seems very important, especially since we have a will-o-wisp for one of the characters :smallbiggrin:

What Felgor is thinking is not what Ren is doing :smallbiggrin: while Felgor set up his spell and spoke with the unicorn, Ren got back in the cave...

Nevertheless, you two needed about 20 minutes due to the fact that you moved carefully. It took little to Felgor to move outside and check if the unicorn was OK.

@Ren: PM :smallsmile:

/END OOC :smallbiggrin:

Felgor turns to Ren... but she's not here!

[Starbin]

"So, ye ready lass ... ? Where in the Nine Hells did she go?" Cursing in dwarven, Felgor released a string of grumbles and mutters that spoke of the flightiness of surface dwellers and the capricious nature of cat-people.

After he finished, he growled, then stomped out to attack the construct with the unicorn. Calling out for a distract, he gripped his axe and moved forward.

Okay, well this is definitely establishing a level of trust (or lack there of) that Felgor will have for the catwoman. Unfortunately, he can't wait too long, due to the limited spell duration, so he will have to press forward without our erstwhile barbarian.

[Leriel]

Ok, since you declared your actions...
- Yrriur moves near the creature, enough to make that shooting a ray. It hits the unicorn, but not badly.
- Felgor is ready to hit! Roll for attack!
After the hit (and the damage), roll again for initiative. I'll describe the outcome of your attack and what's happening :smallwink:

[Starbin]

Charging up, Felgor struck with his long axe. While nothing outwardly had changed about the well-crafted blade, it swung with a weight that generated more force than expected.

Charge! Attack: [roll0] (+3 BAB, +1 MW, +2 Charge, -4 called shot?)
If hit, damage: [roll1]
Notes: weapons affected by lead blades (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advanced/spells/leadBlades.html#_lead-blades-) spell

AC 16 (due to charge); HPs: 23/23
Initiative: [roll2]
Spells
0 - Detect Magic, Create Water, Guidance, Resistance
1 - Magic Weapon, Lead Blades, Protection from Evil
2 - Heat Metal, Resist Energy
Domain - Animate Rope, Wood Shape


EDIT: Uh ... rolled a 7 to hit and a 4 ... on 3d6 ... sigh. Guess we'll see what happens next round ...

[Leriel]

OOC - thou shall roll decent numbers!

The creature moves in an expected way, dodging the attack of Felgor.

In the meantime, Yrriur gets closer, asking: "Where is the furry lady, Felgor?"

Yrriur moves in order to get you and him on the opposite sides of it (game terms, you're flanking it). Then he manages to hit the flying creature with his hooves, but (again!) the wounds close quickly.

The creature zap another ray, this time to Felgor - but it's unbalanced by the attack of the unicorn. The ray misses (OOC: I rolled a 1! :smallannoyed: I confirm your "+3 BAB, +1 MW, +2 Flanking, -4 called shot")

[Starbin]

Felgor had hoped to hit the thing on his first try, but it looked like this might be harder than he thought. Focusing again, he planted his feet and swung the axe one more.

"Guide me blade, Rock Father ..."

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Obviously combat is not my forte ...

[Leriel]

OOC - let's add a +1 circumstance for the prayer, or this will going forever :smallwink:

Felgor manages to hit the green gem. It's strange - it seems that he hit an anvil, not a gem!
The power of the blow - increased by the spell - is painful for Felgor's arm.
But even worse, Felgor sees in horror that the axe blade BREAKS!

[Starbin]

Well, so much for my masterwork special weapon! Guess I should have gone with my gut and used the dagger originally ...

Felgor stands shocked by the shattering of his axe, his beloved axe! He remembered toiling over the forge for weeks, continously hammering the metal until the shape of the blade was perfect. Days spent honing the edge to razor sharpness. Countless hours spent engraving runes upon the blade and haft, making it a true testiment not to his skill, but the inspiration of his patron and lord, the All-Father.

Blinking away tears that were born of the emotional pain more than the physical, he stood for a moment, uncertain. What failures had he committed in his duties to Moradin that had brought him here? Surely, the weapon materials and creation had been pure - the fault must lie with him. he had failed, and the Dwarf-father had abandoned him.

Eyes downcast, they caught on one of the many runes he had carved - 'barak,' the dwarven word for strength. Blinking away the tears, he looked up at this golem ... theis 'contruct.' Since when did a Stoneheart give in to despair and accept defeat in the face of a single failure? Since when did a dwarf let adversity sway his unrelenting progress towards his goal? Since when did a Forgemaster back down from a challenge, especially one of this nature? Let the cat-woman run, chasing lights and will-o-wisps. Let the unicorn retreat in faltering uncertainty. Let the crocadillians cower in the face of undead threats. But he, Felgor Stoneheart, dwarf and Forgemaster to the Creator, would fight inexornably on!

The image of a similar golem and a dwarf with a truesteel blade, carving runes, came to mind, and he almost slapped himself in realization.

"Felgor, yer an idiot. How many time's did yer Ma and Da tell ye, 'Right tool fer the job at hand?" Pulling forth his dagger, he lunged for the center of the gem, praying with all his might for a true strike ...

Ah well, here we go again! :smallsmile:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Plus whatever hidden bonuses there might be with my special dagger :smallwink:

[Leriel]

Zaaa-aaan-koku na tenshi no yooouni…

Despite the axe is broken, the hit from Felgor has unbalanced the creature, making it hesitate for a moment.
But once again the green gem lights… and the ray, inexorable, is directed towards Felgor... in the same moment as the dwarf delivers his shot.
For a moment everything seems to stop.
The ray is shattered by the dagger - as if the beam were a stream of water that shatters on a rock.
The dagger continues its run, up to a few millimeters from the green gem... and it seems to stand still, as if he had encountered a barrier... that is!
It is now clearly visible - a green barrier of light that surrounds the green gem which is the eye of the creature.
But the knife penetrates through the barrier - that is filled with cracks as if it were a glass plate... and the barrier disappears.
Finally the knife hits the gem, that explodes into a thousand fragments...
The creature falls to the ground.
Its parts begin to rust quickly.
After a few minutes, just a heap of black metal and fragments of green glass lay on the ground...
Felgor watches his dagger - now the blade is green and fairly bright.

[Starbin]

Panting, Felgor turned to the unicorn. "Did ye see that? Amazing! Twas a field, forcing me blade back ... but it couldnae stand against a bit o' truesteel! What sort o' sorcery d'ye think the creator used? Must be magic ... I kinnae think o' anything else ... unless ... me cousin once worked with iron ore and mag-no-tism ... ye think that was what it is? But that would mean that truesteel ain't mag-netik ... I wonder ..."

Trailing off, he stared at the rapidly rusting metal, which in and of itself seemed to be more indicative of magic instead of mechanical or the product of simple forging. He suddenly seemed to remember where he was and he looked back to Yrriur. "Apologies, 'corn. Thank ye fer yer help ... turned the tide, it did. Supposin' now we make sure the area is cleared ... will ye be bringin' the lizard folk back, or givin' 'em directions? Cuz I need t'check on the cat-lady, who's still in the cave ..."

Taking a few moments, Felgor relayed to the unicorn what they found in the cave, although he kept the vision from earlier to himself. Once the area appeared to be cleared (and there was nothing of interest in the remains of the construct), Felgor would gather up his axe, using his natural ability to mend broken items to put it back together again. Once he had done everything he could, the dwarf would head back to the cave and find the cat-woman.

Whew ... that was close. In the middle of this, I got worried abou the broken axe, but remembered that Felgor can mend at will :smallredface:

Also, before returning into the cave, Felgor will fashion a couple of torches (unless the unicorn can cast some sort of light).

Oh, and I totally didn't get the Neon Genesis Evangelion reference ... :smallbiggrin:

[Leriel]

OOC - Well, I hope that my description was nice :smallwink: I HAVE AN AT-FIELD! I HAVE AN AT-FIELD!!! Ehm.. :smallredface:

Getting it short - the unicorn tells Felgor that he will check if there are others menaces in the area. He need to rest before teleporting again, so he will wait for you and Ren - probably the best solution is to teleport again tomorrow morning (it's getting darker). BTW he's to big to enter the cave.

Felgor manages to mend the axe (OOC - I'm not sure that it's still masterwork - I'll state that is a normal weapon until Felgor find a forge).

Then he reaches the bottom of the cave. The circle is still here, but Ren is nowhere to be seen.

[Starbin]

Hmmm ... I guess I'm not sure that MW is a condition that can be removed - it's treated as something different for crafting, but not for sundering or anything else (that I've heard of). When I looked up Broken, it said that mending and make whole were the only ways of fixing broken magical weapons. I guess my way of thinking is that it wouldn't make sense that a MW weapon would suffer a greater penalty than a magic weapon (which is MW as well), but however you wish to play it ...

Felgor told the unicorn about the circle, asking if he had heard of such a thing. He then provided a warning that the cat-woman had probably gone through and he was going to follow.

"So much for looking before she leapt ..." Felgor gathered his gear and stepped through.

[Leriel]

OOC - Well, if mending can repair a magical weapon... OK, you still have your axe as Masterwork :smallwink:

Yrriur has no knowledge of such magics - he just tells Felgor to be careful.

And so Felgor steps in the magic circle...

The first thing that he notices is that he arrived in a good lighted area.

The area is a square of about 10x10 fts... with three doors (one in front of him, one at his right and one at his left). No door has handles or similar things for opening.

The door at the right has a picture of a short man with a long beard.

The door at the left has a picture of a man with cat's ears and a tail.

The door in front of him has both pictures on it.

And... Ren is sitting and sipping some wine :smallsmile:

[Starbin]

Felgor stops and stares at the cat-woman for a long moment. Then with a low rumbling sound, like gravel rubbing on stone ... he laughs. A beard shaking belly laugh at the absurdity of the scene laid out before him. OF COURSE the cat-woman is here, simply sipping on wine!

Shaking his head, he nodded to the woman. "Hail, lass. Wondered were ye got off to. Been through yer door over there?"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Not really. Just been staring at the doors wondering. I can't help but think that I would be killed if I went through any of the other doors."

She corks her wine and places it away. She then gets up and cracks her neck.

"Welp, did you run or kill the thing? I decided to leave things be. It was boring fighting something that only fights defensively."

[Starbin]

Felgor raised an eye at the caution that Ren had apparently displayed. In answer to her question, he replied, "Aye, tis done. The golem is destroyed and the 'corn is sweepin' the area fer more threats.

Now, fer these doors ... it cannae be coincedence there be doors with these pictures. The one I'm guessin' is a dwarf might make sense, but I cannae believe there be that many o' yer kind going through th'circle to warrant a door."

Tapping his chin thoughtfully, he stepped up to the door on the right, peering at the picture that appeared to be a dwarf. Leaning close, he checked for how the door might open and listened carefully.

Perception check: [roll0]

EDIT: Is that the SECOND 1 I've rolled for a perception check? Man, I hate rolling for skills ...

"So, d'ye think we kin check these side doors first? Or should we be going through the middle?" With a thought, Felgor spun around and checked for the portal behind him.

[Leriel]

OOC - This natural 1's are killing me :smallbiggrin:

As Felgor looks for a way to open the door, he inadvertently touches it for an instant - the symbol on the door glows for a moment, then return to normal as soon as Felgor moves away.

And about the portal... there is no more sign of it!

[Starbin]

Walking to the door on the left, Felgor carefully raised his hand to get close to the symbol, wondering if it would light up as well, or simply not react to his presense at all.

[Leriel]

The symbol on the left door does not change.

[Starbin]

Felgor walked back to the 'dwarf' door. Touching his holy symbol, he said a quick prayer to Moradin, then touched the symbol on the door.

Here's hoping the GM didn't just finish incorporating elements of the Tomb of Horrors into this adventure ... :smallbiggrin:

[Leriel]

Felgor: PM (do-do-do doooooooooooom...) :smallbiggrin:

[Leriel]

@Ren - let me know if you want to cross the door, too :smallsmile:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren decides to go up to the cat door, but the walks to the third door.

"Let's just go through this one..."

[Leriel]

Ren struggles to find a way to open the door with the 2 symbols, but she is not able to do it (even trying to force it open with force is not working).

[Starbin]

Felgor stepped back through the door, holding a hammer that he did not have before. He stopped to stare at the cat-woman for a moment, pushing on the door with two pictures, then simply shook his head.

"Lass, I be guessin' ye need to go through the left door. Beyond th'right one, there was a table with hammers on it, and I had t'choose the right one. Praps ye'll have a similar test o'yer abilities."

As he waited, he studied the hammer, gauging its workmanship, form and function.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"I was hoping you'd lend a furry lady some help with this door here."

She says with her forehead resting against the two-pictured door. She seems to be softly banging her head against the door.

[Starbin]

Felgor just stood there for a moment, wondering if the cat-woman had heard a word he said ... of if she just didn't care.

"I said ye might have a similar test in the other room ... sometin needed fer the dual room. Don't ye want to even look?"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Banging her head a few times,

"Sure..."

She then walks to the cat door and walks through it (If it allows her passage).

[Leriel]

PM to Ren :smallsmile:

[Leriel]

Ren steps back through the door, holding a tamborine that she did not have before :smallsmile:

As soon as she reach the center of the room, the same voice of the cave speaks again:
"Dwarf check passed - correct item selected.
Catfolk check passed - item selected in less than 5 seconds.
Door opening in progress..."

The door with the two symbols opens wide. You can see a finely decorated hallway, well lighted, beyond the door.

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded, almost to himself, as Ren returned. "Now, if'n yer wishin' to continue, lass, the door be open."

Felgor peered down the hallway, before stepping through the door with Ren.

Perception check: [roll0]

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren hums something to herself while they walk through the doors.

"Ring, ring, ring,
Goes the Tamborine.
Ring, ring, ring,
Makes you want to sing.
Ring, ring, ring,
Goes the Tamborine.
Ring, ring, ring,
Just a little spring."

[Leriel]

OOC - bonus XP to Ren for the song :smallsmile:

[Leriel]

The hallway is finely decorated, with mosaics of geometric patterns.
It's probably the work of skilled dwarves.
The corridor goes on for about 40 ft., then it opens in a great room (about 20 ft by 20 ft).
You can see fine mosaics on the walls...
Wait.
The first strange thing in this room is that there is no door.
The second strange thing is the set of lever under some of the mosaics (let me describe them properly later).
The third and most strange thing is an heap of junk near the wall at your right... it seems a heap of rust metal and rotten rags.
Otherwise, the room (as the rest of this complex) is clean and in good shape.
Ok, the mosaics... all of them are exquisite.
***On the wall at your left, you can see three similar mosaics:
- one is showing a catfolk, a dwarf and a tree-man near a big black stone;
- one is showing a catfolk, a dwarf and a little winged fairy, near a huge tree;
- one is showing a catfolk, a dwarf and an unicorn, near a spring.
The characters in the mosaics are in similar positions (like they are speaking) - just the scene is different.
Under each of this mosaics, there is a lever in an "up" position.
***On the wall at your right, there are also three similar mosaics:
- one is showing a catfolk wieldind a longsword and figthing some small humanoids, near an almost bare dwarf holding two great axes;
- one is showing a catfolk drinking something from a bottle, near a dwarf working at a forge;
- one is showing a crowned catfolk on a throne and a dwarf in a gloomy prison.
Again, under each of this mosaics, there is a lever in an "up" position.
***Finally, on the wall in fron of you, there is a last set of three mosaics:
- one is showing a catfolk over some creature, holding it on the ground, and a dwarf wielding a green dagger
- one is showing a catfolk with a bow, aiming at something, and a dwarf evoking an earth elemental
- one is showing a huge catfolk, surrounded by a magical aura cast by an hairless dwarf wearing a black robe.
Again, under each of this mosaics, there is a lever in an "up" position.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Mr. Stoneheart? Any insight on this place would be greatly appreciated."

[Starbin]

Felgor wandered around the room, looking carefully at the mosaics. As he passed each wall, his unease increased at the pictures. "'Tis disturbin', lass, all these images ... they be special fer us, as if this room was ... was waitin' fer us."

He glanced back at Ren, remembering her bottle, then looked back to the walls. "Well, let's take a page from yer book, lass ..."

Stepping forward to the mosaics on the right, Felgor reached for the lever under the picture of a catfolk drinking something from a bottle, near a dwarf working at a forge and pulled it down. If nothing crazy happened, he moved on to the mosaics on the left and pulled the lever under the picture of a catfolk, a dwarf and an unicorn, near a spring. Finally, if everything continued uneventfully, he stepped to the middle set of mosaics and pulled the lever under the picture of a catfolk over some creature, holding it on the ground, and a dwarf wielding a green dagger.

"If'n ye believe in luck, lass, cross yer claws." He reached up to touch his symbol, waiting to see what happened ...

[Leriel]

Felgor approaches the right wall.
He lowers the lever... and he takes a look at the heap of junk... well, he was thinking at it as junk...
It's not junk. It's what remains of an armor - and of a robe - and there are bones.
Nevertheless, nothing strange happens... and he pull down the other levers...
And again, the same voice of the cave speaks:
"Lever sequence correct. Destruction sequence ended. Portal activation confirmed. Welcome, awaited ones."

Then a circle of light appears on the floor...

[Starbin]

Whoops! I totally forgot about the pile in the center of the room ... glad I didn't take 20 to search that stuff BEFORE doing the sequence!

Felgor blinked, looking around. He stared at the light for a moment, then realized that the pile of bones and armor might have been the last person to attempt access ... and fail. He had been so preoccupied by the mosaics, he had assumed the 'junk' was the remains of another golem.

Moving to the pile, he searched through it for any clues as to who or what it might have been.

Maybe taking 20 would be appropriate now ... :smallsmile:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"I wonder why all my actions are looked upon in a different light from yours? Yours are always "Correct" while mine are usually "Well, you chose something at least." I am suspecting a conspiracy, as my friend Shark would say."

But Ren resigns herself to aiding Felgor with the searching.

Taking 10 for Aid Another on the Search.

[Starbin]

Felgor raised his head and glanced back at the mosaics. "Not sure I see what ye mean, lass. They just be pictures o' what we been doin'. Standin' with th'corn, ye fightin' the golem, ye drinkin' yer wine ... which ye seem t'be fond of ..."

He paused for a moment, looking around. "Are ye seein' something different than me? Cuz that would be interestin' t'know ..."

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"The scribbles are fine (I actually fancy the one which has a Catfolk as royalty); no, it is that voice that gets to me..."

[Leriel]

The remains of the armor are old - really old. It's a suit of armor of dwarf size. Felgor can say that it's a old-fashoned one (no one still forge the links between plates in such a way!)
You also discover:
- A warhammer, with a broken handle, in bad shape.
- An hammer identical to the one chosen by Felgor (in perfect shape).
- A whistle (in perfect shape, identical to the one seen by Ren in the room where she chose the tamborine).
- Two rusty and broken daggers.
- Some bones into the dwarf armor, and more bones in the remaining of the robe. You can see the remaining of a broken skull with long canines (as Ren's ones).
- Some broken glass vials.
- Some broken stuff you cannot recognize.

[Starbin]

Felgor sifted through the remains, wondering who these two were that had failed there test, apparently. He also wondered at the presence of a dwarf and cat-person in a similar situation, from so long ago. Were those other pictures of them? Did they simply choose the wrong order, or were they not the correct pair? And who had set this up expecting them? Strange things afoot in this place ...

Using his mending ability, Felgor tried to determine what the remaining items were. If he could not, he would rise and look to Ren to see if she were ready to proceed. "Guessin'' there's nuthin' left but t'go through. Looks like these poor folk dinnae pass the last test ... but that was many, many years ago ... even fer a dwarf."

[Leriel]

Felgor can mend the warhammer and the vials. The rusted daggers and armor are too damaged and missing too much parts to be mended. Also the "broken stuff" are beyond identification, sorry :smallsmile:

[Starbin]

No worries ... Felgor is ready to press on, when Ren is.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren takes the whistle from the pile,

"Mend this, if you don't mind."

Once the item is repaired, she seems to ready herself for the next jump (Hopefully their last).

[Starbin]

Felgor glanced at the whistle. "Ah ... it looks t'be in perfect condition, lass." Handing it back, he turned to walk through the circle.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Thank you for mending it."

She says as she passes into the circle after him.

[Leriel]

You are teleported in a huge, underground area.
The ground is made of polished stone; you arrived to a circle delimited by a mosaic of white stones.
There are some small floating lights that illuminate this circle; you cannot see the ceiling or what's beyond the radius of the floating lights.
The circle seems a compass; you can see four direction (like the cardinal points), indicated by some runes (OOC - Felgor can see that they are dwarven runes, but he cannot recognize them - I made the roll :smallredface:)
Let's call these runes as the cardinal points for ease of reference.
On the floor, you can see that the color of the stones is different - like a road - in the direction of these runes.
Also you hear a buzzing sound - similar to the one produced by the creature that you faced, just before zapping its green rays. The sound is low (and it's not disturbing), but it's pervading the area.

[Starbin]

Uncertain of what the specific runes might mean, Felgor shook his head and looked at Ren. "Apologies, lass, but I kinnae tell which way t'go. If'n ye have a preference, speak now. Otherwise, what say ye to that way?" Felgor pointed 'north.'

Holidays are here and I've been lazy. And without a clear way forward, I guess we'll just have to pick one!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"One sec."

Ren takes out 4 small twigs from her bag and aligns them as a compass or grid around her. She then takes out a precious stone and stands in the center of the grid. After closing her eyes, she spins around rapidly in order to disorient herself, and tosses the stone into the air.
[roll0]
1 = North
2 = East
3 = South
4 = West

After gaining back her composure, she points at the direction where the rock landed.

"T-that way..."

She then retrieves her items before heading out.

[Starbin]

Felgor watched with obvious disbelief in his eyes. As could be predicted, Ren pointed in the opposite direction and started that way. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, "She cannae just follow someone else ..."

As they moved forward, the dwarf wondered at the disembodied voice for a moment, curious as to the magical programming that would go into such a thing. Of course, that assumed that the voice was a product of a limited series of 'Action-Response' combinations. Frowning, he paused for a moment, the spoke aloud. "Voice, where be we? And who be ye?"

[Leriel]

The voice does not reply...

You continue for about 350 ft. The floating lights illuminate your way - they light on as soon as you step forward.

You reach a huge forge - there are a lot of tools scattered: hammers, pliers, and so. The fire is dim, but it's still aglow.

Also you see about a dozen of strange lances, all of them incomplete or broken: they look like this one:
http://i.imgur.com/mVzSo.jpg

Finally, you see a floating... thing. It's like a incorporeal parchment, floating at about 3 ft., with some note in dwarven (Felgor can recognize them - see below :smallsmile:). It looks like a "bullet list".

- Cast the teleporting circles DONE
- Set the Seraph outside DONE
- Set the fake Seraph in the cave DONE
- Polish the mosaics DONE
- Set the musical instruments DONE
- Set the hammers DONE
- Get rid of the broken lances
- Complete the messages for the teleporting circles DONE
- Enchant the gifts for the catfolk ALMOST
- Farewell to Endymion
- Complete the final message ALMOST

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Mr. Stoneheart, do you think you could repair a few of these items so we can sell/use them for later? I feel let down that I could take home one of those shinies back in the cave... At least the lances as they'd probably sell for more."

Ren is going around looting through the discarded and broken items for anything useful.

Taking 20 on a search check if allowed.

[Leriel]

Among a lot of useless junk, Ren manages to find a "pauldron" (a shoulder pad) in a strange material and excellent conditions - probably the rest of the armor was melted, but the pauldron is OK (can be used as an additional piece of armor for +1 AC, no penalties. And OOC - probably it has some additional properties :smalltongue:)

About the lances - bot Ren and Felgor can say that even mended, these are not good weapons: they are too heavy, unbalanced, not properly sharpened. It seems that they are some kind of tests or attempts to forge a lance whit this strange shape, but with bad results.

Nevertheless... 2 lances have adamantium parts, one is made of cold iron and another is made of alchemical silver. Even the raw metal is worth something :smallwink:

Finally, Felgor can say that this forge is even better of the one he used to work with when he lived with his clan. But this forge is abandoned... from a lot of time.

[Starbin]

Felgor studied the note, glancing around the area and the lances. It seemed that his vision of a dwarf forging a weapon of power had more credence, and was connected to this place. It seemed the original craftsman had not finished, however, given the notes and work left behind.

Moving through the forge, Felgor felt a wave of both envy and homesickness wash over him. Here was a place that both reminded him of home, and yet was better than any of the forges his family had ever used. Shaking his head, he turned to back to the cat-woman, shaking his head.

"I cannae tell ye I unnerstand everthing goin' on here, but it seems one o' me kin was tryin' t'create something powerful. Them winged contructs, the tests, this forge, the note ... it all points t'powerful magics and troublin' times."

Felgor took time to sketch out a few pictures of the lances before he removed and gathered the special materials he could find. He also checked to see if there was any magic in the room, just in case. Finally, he looked around for anything he might have missed - his kin were notorious for well-hidden caches to keep their treasures safe.

Getting back into it - does Felgor know what/who Endymion is? Any magic in the room? Any hidden stuff that a dwarf might find?

Happy New Years!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren will attempt to gather everything sellable before they decide to head in the next direction.

"You mentioned North. Let's head there next."

[Leriel]

Felgor cannot find hidden places or so...
Also, he never heard the word "Endymion" before.
Assuming that he casts Detect Magic:
- A rune on the pauldron found by Ren is magic, but Felgor cannot recognize it. It looks elvish.
- All the tools in the forge are protected by magic of some sort, probably to prevent them from break or decay.

About the lances:
- If Felgor and Ren wants to pick them, you can take one lance for STR bonus (max 4 lances for STR 18), assuming that you have some rope to put them together. In order to remove the adamantium and so, Felgor must spend about half an hour for lance - let me know.

Finally - it's OK for Felgor going North?

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded somewhat to himself, then pointed towards the forge and lances. "Tis not a quick thing, t'be separatin' the truesteel from th'rest. Or ye kin carry 'em back. I kin carry one ... Mebbe more, if'n I put a rune on it ...". Trailing off for a moment, Felgor shrugged to himself, pushed up his sleeves and started to work.

guess we can remove the adamantine first, then head north!

[Chained Birds]

Ren

As they head north after the removal process,

"See, my gem never points me in the wrong direction. Look at all this loot we found for no hassle."

[Starbin]

Felgor chuckled. "Aye, lass, that it did.

So, what be bringin' ye to all o' this? Besides th'predations o' lizard folks and strange request by 'corns?"

[Leriel]

Ren and Felgor proceed north. As before, the lights follow in their footsteps. After reaching the circle (where they arrived after being teleported) the way continues for about 300 feet, until they come to a stone building - a small house, like a small barrack (OOC: as the ones used in dockyards) with a wooden door, half open. Although made of wood, the door is in good condition. There's a light coming from inside the house.

[Starbin]

Raising an eyebrow, Felgor glanced at Ren, then proceeded to the door. With as much armor as he was wearing, if there was someone here and they hadn't heard him yet, they either didn't care or were dead. Regardless, perhaps there were answers to be found ...

[Leriel]

Ren and Felgor enter the room. The light comes from some luminous spheres, as they saw earlier. There are some furniture - a small kitchen, a small library, a comfortable chair, a small bed at the end of the room. All of them show the wear of time. Finally, there is a desk in the middle of the room, with a chair, occupied by... someone dressed in a long, heavy tunic. But that someone is dead... Felgor andd Ren can only see what remains of his skeleton. It seems to have dropped on the desktop (OOC: as happens to students who fall asleep while studying :smallwink:). His right arm is stretched out on the desk and its hand (now just some bones) is resting on a gray stone. (Its skull is also resting on the desk).
On the desktop, there are also a glass, a bottle, a lectern (with the remains of a parchment badly worn by time) and a green gem, carved in the shape of a dodecahedron, with a diameter of about 12 inches.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren gives a relieved sigh,

"Finally, we've found someone.
...
So, is that corpse actually dead?"

[Leriel]

@Chained_birds - how far is Ren from the corpse? From the door, it looks actually dead...

[Starbin]

Felgor glanced around the room, wondering what had happened here that the figure at the table had seemingly died at work. He started into the room when Ren spoke up, giving him pause. "Uh ... d'ye know a lot o' corpses that be livin'?" However, he still paused in caution, scanning the rooms for any signs that there was more than meets the eye to this scene.

Take 20 on a perception check around the room. KS (Religion): [roll0] ... or use it for any other check (Arcana, History, Nobility)

[Leriel]

The corpse is dead (OOC: "He's dead, Jim!"). Dead and consumed by time. Just some bones and ashes remains. The tunic is of good material (but half-destroyed by time), but there are no sign or symbols in the room or on the tunic. Felgor has the impression that the corpse belong to someone died while sitting at work.
And... Felgor finds the color of the gray stone quite odd - like a strange marble, of another stone chosen to resist the injury of time.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren's nose starts twitching. Her good nose detests the smell of the dead so she is obviously unsettled by the room.

"Let's just loot this place and get out. I don't like rooms with dead guys in them. Too ominous for my tastes. And that EDIT: Smell... Even if you can't smell it, I can..."

Ren is too busy carrying around the Adamantine stuff, so Felgor can carry the marble if he wants.

[Starbin]

Well, I didn't know that Ren was carrying all the adamantine ... I thought it only required great strength to carry the entire lance. But since Felgor took it all off, that should be more manageable and therefore shareable.

Felgor approached the desk, detecting magic as he moved further into the room. EDIT: "I guess spendin' lot's o' time in th'forge tends t'singe yer nose hairs ..." He would focus his efforts on the stone (which he wouldn't touch just yet) and the gem, curious as to the composition and quality of both ... and what their purpose was.

Once he had looked at both of those, he would look at the bottle and glass, and try to mend the lectern.

Feel free to make the appropriate rolls for me (not sure which ones you need). +6 for the knowledge skills (Arcana, History, Religion, Nobility). Also, Felgor gets a +2 perception with regard to unusual stone stuff. Thanks!

[Chained Birds]

OOC: Refer to my previous post concerning the "spell". As it was a typo.

[Starbin]

I figured, but it was too funny not to say something :smallbiggrin: I edited Felgor's statement.

[Leriel]

Felgor casts Detect Magic... and he feels that the gray stone and the dodecahedron gem are magic.
Well, the gray marble is imbued with a spell of illusion school, but since it looks just a stone, probably there is some triggered effect (OOC: you made a natural 20 :smallwink:).
The dodecahedron green gem, instead... that's a magic. Felgor feels a really strong magic aura from it, but he cannot find more details.

Nothing else in the room is magic.

The glass is dirty and the bottle is empty (with a faint smell of alcohol).

As soon as Felgor tries to mend the lectern, the scroll crumbles to dust.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"So... West?"

Ren spouts with shrug.

[Starbin]

Sighing at the crumbled parchment, he stared at the stone and the gem for a long moment before finally reaching out to touch the stone.

I may regret this, but let's see what happens ...

[Leriel]

(OOC - imperial theme from Star Wars...)

(OOC - fooled ya! :smallwink:)

As soon as Felgor touches the marble stone, an image of an old dwarf appears in the room. He looks old and tired, and in the image, he sits to a desk similar to the one that you found in this room. He's touching a gray stone, on the desk. (Yes, it looks like the one that Felgor just touched :smallsmile:)
The image starts to speak with the same voice that you heard before...
"Greetings, nimble catfolk and stout dwarf. I have little time, so please listen to this message."
The dwarf of this image seems to feel pain and he stops a second, then he goes on:
"I'm master Cherudek. I did everything was required from me, according to the prophecy. So, if you're here, you are a dwarf who likes forging things and a catfolk who likes wine. You met an unicorn and overcame the guardian outside."
Another stop, while the dwarf takes a break. It seems that he's looking (reading?) at something on the desk.
"Right... first of all my apologies to you, catfolk. I know little of your kind, so maybe your tests did look strange. Ask Endymion for a gift as my excuses."
"Second, feel free to explore the cave. You can use the forge. Please don't mess with the growing tanks. Don't be afraid of Endymion, he's a good pal."
"Third and most important: the gem."
In the image, he points with his left hand to a green gem on his desk (it's the same that you just discovered here).
"This is for you, noble dwarf. You should find the way to activate it - I wasn't able. It will show you how to forge a lance... a powerful one. Well... this is what I saw in my prophecy. I tried to forge it, too, but what I remembered from the omen was not enough."
The image closes his eyes.
"This is really important. I forged and created some golems, similar to the guardian outside... but even if they are powerful, I fear that they will be not enough to overcome the menace..."
The dwarf of the image starts to cough and his left hand touches his heart.
"DO IT! Find the way to forge it! Ask Endymion if you have more questions... I instructed him. He will show you how to leave and come again..."
The face of the dwarf becomes pale, and he moans...
Then he says:
"Aziraphel... I did it. I hope that you were wrong... for the first time..."
Then you see that the dwarf drops on the desk. The image is still... and after some minutes, it disappears.

[Starbin]

I'm guessing that Felgor doesn't recognize the name Cherudek, or Aziraphel?

Felgor watched with interest as the image spoke, writing some notes on his paper to capture the pertinent information. As the image finally faded, he almost felt a little choked up, wondering how long ago this master had tried to forge the lances ... and what chance did a young dwarf like himself have to succeed if Cherudek could not?

Shaking his head, he gathered the stone and placed it in his pack. Then he reached down to pick up the gem, nodding to the cat-woman. "Aye, lass. West be fine. Let's find this Endymion."

[Leriel]

@Felgor and Ren:
- You never heard the name "Cherudek"
- Felgor also know that this "Aziraphel" was the mage who created the gem of Omens, as posted here:


More info about the city and your story...

The city of "Omen" is so called since it was born near the "Gem of Omens".
The legend says that this gem (a green emerald) was created by a great diviner - named Aziraphel.
Aziraphel was good hearted, and he wanted that future generations could have a guide in the most difficult times.

The gem rests in a cave at the bottom of a well. Once a year, the summer solstice, the gem magically comes from the well and floats in midair. Thus, a light emanates from within, and go through the gem ... which is finely engraved and covered with tiny inscriptions.
Through the gem, the light projected inscriptions on the walls of the cave: they are predictions for the year to come.
Thanks to the magic of Aziraphel (and the skill of a jeweler that nobody knows the name) these prophecies are different every year.

The gem and the cave are protected by a powerful spell cast by Aziraphel before he died:
"Neither the power of magic, or power of the mind nor the power of strength may destroy the gem."

The city of Omen was only a small school of magic, but thanks to the prophecies (and common sense of rulers) has thrived for centuries, until it became a large city.
For example, the system of drains was built by King Sigfrid III, after a prophecy had predicted strong storms. Sigfrid III prevented a flood.
How can we forget also king Kanon? Despite his terrible allergy to cat hair, he issued decrees for their protection, and saved the city from the Cranium Rats invasion from another world.

The prophecies are in common language - but the light lasts a few minutes, and it is for this reason that many scribes have the task of transcribing. Some prophecies are important, others frivolous (like the "prophecy of short hair"), and some involve the entire city, others can only be understood by their recipient.

Each year, a month before the summer solstice, small gems can be found all over the world - little gems of little value, but bearing a rune. Anyone found one of these gems can enter the cave, because a prophecy awaits him. (It's no sense to steal it - you cannot understand a prophecy for someone else).

Some of you have found one of these gems - others have been hired as bodiguards (to be determined in the background).

By the will of Aziraphel, a gem is always addressed to the royal house, for the good of the city.

(Ren knows only about the fact that there is a free prophecy at summer solstice, but does not know the full history).

EDIT: Are you going west as suggested by Ren?
EDIT EDIT: Missed the last part of your post :smallredface:

[Chained Birds]

Ren

With an odd inquisitive look on her face,

"I wonder what an "Endymion" looks like. I hope it has wings or claws. Would be a bit disappointing if it was another machine...
...
Oh yes; West is a good."

[Leriel]

OOC: Go west young man!

Felgor and Ren go west. This time the trail leads them to a series of glass tanks, filled with yellow and green liquid. There are several of them.
Felgor and Ren can see that the tanks with yellow liquid also contains some parts... piece of metals shaped as wings, arms or heads without features. The liquid of the tanks is weakly luminescent.

These tanks are really an uncomfortable sight...

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Examining the tanks,

"Must be where those guardian things were made. See anything else we can loot?"

Ren checks around the area for anything shiny.

Search Check: Taking 20

[Starbin]

Felgor looked around just long enough to feel uncomfortable. Not seeing anything but the tanks, he shook his head to Ren's question. "Nay, lass. Master Cherudek said t'leave the tanks be and I dinnae see anythin else."

He would take one opportunity to call out, "Endymion?" If there was no answer, he would wait for Ren and proceed eastward.

Thanks for the info ... I failed to check the backstory post - my bad!

[Leriel]

Speaking of shiny things... Ren find a little shard of a blue gem (a color similar to the one in the cave, that she tried to take away, in vain).

Felgor and Ren hear a low voice from the east, in the distance:
"Master Cherudek? Is it you?"

[Starbin]

"Mebbe that be Endymion ..."

Felgor started to walk in that direction, calling back, "Nay, we be visitors!"

[Leriel]

Felgor and Ren go on walking for some minutes... until they see.
They see the "some golems" created by master Cherudek...
A legion. Better: an army.

They see hundreds of creatures - some are similar to the guardian they found outside the cave, some are shaped as umanoid - all look like twisted copy of... angels. They are lined up in a perfect order.

There are many 6-winged creature with a green gem, a lot of similar creatures (some smaller, some greater) with a blue gem, there are almost an hundred of humanoid with wings made of fire, floating in air, with heads without features and seven eyes (one big red eye and six more little eyes in a circle around it). Some of them have arms that ends with claws, talons and so, while the most wield a lot of different weapons.

Felgor remembers the words of Cherudek:
"I forged and created some golems, similar to the guardian outside... but even if they are powerful, I fear that they will be not enough to overcome the menace..."
He cannot think at a menace so great that a similar army cannot overcome...

Nevertheless, the sight of these creatures is not the only disturbing thing.

First of all, they hear the buzzing sound... the one made by the creature outside, before it shoot its rays.

Second, they see... a face.

There is an head - an head taller than six feet - belonging to a body... a body that's buried in the ground, surrounded by a grey liquid.
You can see that just the shoulder (and the upper part of a lot of wings) are outside this pool.
Also you can see some chains wrapped around its body, and a plate attached to the chains, with the statement "HOLD ME UNTIL IT SLEEPS".
This head is the source of the buzzing sound. It's a face without features, with three huge, red gems forming a triangle.

Then you hear...
"Visitors! I was hoping it was master Cherudek... I am Endymion. I'm... pleased to meet you... These are the right words to say, aren't they?"
You see who just spoke: it's an humanoid, tall as Ren, crouching near the pool, touching it with an hand. It's of the same color - and it's made of steel.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Approaching the Endymion,

"Before I ask for an item, like the vision told me to, can you tell me what type of creature you are?"

[Leriel]

"Hello, furry visitor! Well... I was created by master Cherudek. I'm not sure about what creature I am... he once told me that I was a "good nice adamantium golem"... Maybe is this you want to know?"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

With a disappointed sigh, she looks upon the Endymion with a hopeful stare.

"I guess... Anyways, you have something for me Sir Endymion? I hope it is not a "Battle to show your worth" type of deal. I'm fine with doing that and all if I have to, but I'd rather not do it with a golem..."

She then nervously tries to recover from her statement,

"No offense, just I like more emotion from my opponents and creatures such as yourself and the guardians just don't do it for me."

[Leriel]

Endymion looks at Ren puzzled.
"Please, no battle, no hurt... I could be a golem, but master Cherudek told me that I'm alive - some living steel experiment he made. I cannot be hurt badly, but I feel pain, and I don't like battles."
He utters some words at the pool:
"This could renforce the barrier."
Then he stands up and speak to Ren:
"Master told me to give gifts to a furry creature that will come... but a lot of time is passed... let me remember... about 600'000'000 drops from that rock..."
He nods to a rock that drops some water, about a drop every 5-10 seconds.
Then he retrieves a small box and gives it to Ren.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren takes the box with little hesitation and opens it (If able) with the same recklessness she has already shown.

"So, what's in the box?"

[Leriel]

The box contains an amulet with a silver cord, a gem (of a light brown color) and a stone (a prism of dusty rose color).
There is also a small pouch with some little gems of many colors.

EDIT:
Endymion says "I know that some of them are enchanted items, made by master Cherudek. By the way, did you see him?"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

The catfolk puts the blue gem she found earlier into the box and stows it away for now.

"I'll look into these items then... later though. Hey, where might the exit be? East?"

[Leriel]

Endymion says: "Oh, right" and he takes a couple of black sticks.
"Master Cherudek told to give them to you - stay in the circle and you'll go out. And if you need to return, break them."

[Starbin]

Felgor was walking among the golems, studying them with great interest while Ren spoke with Endymion. Hearing the metal golem give the box to the cat-woman, he frowned at the number mentioned. By Moradin's beard, he's been here over a hunnerd years!

Shaking his head, he stepped forward to Endymion, accepting the black sticks given. "Ho, Endymion, what be the difference's in gemstone? What be there weaknesses?"

Then he thought, remembering Cherudek's words. "And what menance did Master Cherudek fear?"

[Leriel]

Endymion looks at Felgor:
"You looks like master Cherudek... Do you know why he does not come here to speak with me?" he sighs.
"By the way..." he starts speaking like repeating something memorized:
"Golems with green gems are called Seraph, they shot rays that cause pain but no real harm.
Golems with blue gems are called Thrones, and they shot rays that can kill and overcome magical barriers.
Golems with many eyes are called Domination, they are skilled fighters who see everything and can pierce physical barriers.
Finally there is The Lightbringer, who's trapped in this adamantium pool since sometimes he wants to unleash its power.
All of them can be damaged only by truesteel, and only damaging the gems."

Then he speaks normally again:
"I don't know why master Cherudek created all of them. I think to provide me some company... I don't know what was his fear."
Then he seems to remember something:
"Sometimes he was speaking to himself, saying that he has little time, touching his heart... while sometimes he drank some strange liquid and started crying..."

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded, removing some parchment and a pen to take a few notes. He asked about any schematics or instructions on creating the golems, interested in how Cherudek had done all this.

However, when Endymion asked about the master, he paused, looking sadly at the 'creature.' "Ah, lad, I hate t'tell ye, but yer Master has ... passed. D'ye understand what that means? We," he pointed at Ren and himself, "o' the fleshy type are usually mortal. That means we cannae live forever, without magic or help from th'gods. Master Cherudek's time on th'earth was up, and his spirit be with the All-Father, I'm guessin' ..."

[Leriel]

Endymion looks really sad - his steel face shows an expression you never expected to see in a golem.
"So... I will see him no more...That's... sad. Please, stay with me a little..."

[Starbin]

Felgor was amazed at the wonderous accomplishment Cherudek had achieved - a golem that seemed to actually feel emotions! Of course, did that mean that Endymion was actually alive, or simply mimicked that which all living beings possessed? Was this a corruption of machinery or a mockery of life?

Such questions were beyond the forgemaster, but it didn't stop him from feeling a twinge of sorrow for the metal golem. "We kin stay fer a few moments ... kin ye tell us anythin' about the lances yer master was workin' on?"

[Leriel]

"Well, about lances..."
Endymion seems to think about the matter.
"Master Cherudek used to talk about his friend "Aziraphel", and he felt sad when this happened... He mumbled about helping him with a gem, and that men really don't want to know their fate... Nevertheless, this Aziraphel was a mage of some sort, and he gave an omen to master Cherudek. In this omen he spoke about a strange lance... my creator spent a lot of time trying to forge it. Sometimes I tried to help him, but every time there was a new trouble... like the lance refused to be created by him."
Endymion closes his steel eyes.
"Maybe I should be glad about it... one time, he was angry, he drank a lot of this strange liquid, and he said that he would not have the need to create us, if he could forge the spear. So, maybe, I am here since he failed to forge that lance..."

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded, understandingly. "Did yer Master leave behind any books or scrolls? Anythin' that might o' discussed his work?"

He glanced over at the huge figure in the pool. "And what did ye mean that the Light Bringer want's t'unlesh its power?"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

Ren is sitting around drinking the remainder of her wine.

[Leriel]

"No books or so - master Cherudek stored some information in stones and gems, but after another failure with the lance, he smashed all of them with an hammer at the forge." He sighs.

"And about the Light Bringer... About every 5,000,000 drops, he starts buzzing. According to Master, it must do it when he detects his antagonist... some creature that I don't know. But Master Cherudek said that I had to hold it until the full wake of his antagonist... and that I will be aware of it. But so far I did sense nothing unusual. So I'm reinforcing the adamantium pool that holds is, uttering the saxena words."

Endymion looks at the huge golem.
"The power unleashed by Lucifer - that's a nick for Light Bringer - should be more or less 1,000 times the power of a Throne."

Then he turns to Ren:
"I'm sorry, furry one... the liquid that you're drinking has the same color of the one that Master Cherudek used to drink... since you're drinking it... are you ill?"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

She finishes her bottle,

"Depends on your definition of ill. Though my body is healthy, though it is also different than those of a normal folk."

Fortitude Save: [roll0]
Edit: And Ren can still handle her alcohol.

[Leriel]

Endymion looks relieved.
"And do you have illness in your mind? Sadness, for example, like Master?"

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Nah. I've got the Great Mother on my side. Perhaps if your Master believed in one such as her, he might have been able to confront his demons or something. Though I don't know the man, so it is hard for me to say whether anything could have prevented his death or not.
It could have been the will of the Great Mother for all I know."

Ren stretches as she stows her empty bottle away.

[Starbin]

Felgor looked around, uncertain what other questions he could ask right now. It was a lot to take in ... and now it looked as if he needed to go to the city of Omen to unlock the gem, or perhaps his portion of the prophecy.

Sighing, he walked over and patted Endymion. "Yer master was tryin' t'stop somethin bad from happening. He passed on the task t'us. Ah'm thinkin' we should be on our way ... but dinnae worry, we'll be back agin. Peace, lad, until we return."

Not sure there's much more here, so Felgor is ready to return. Besides, he still needs to make sure the crocadillians are taken care of!

[Leriel]

"Well, let me come with you to the circle and say you goodbye. Thank you for your visit, by the way... May the spirit of my master be with you."

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded, motioning for the golem to lead the way.

[Leriel]

OOC - I suppose that Ren agrees with Felgor...

Felgor and Ren reach the circle where they arrived. Endymion says farewell...

After an instant, they are in the clearing again. It's dark outside, it's already night.

Yrriur neighs as soon as he sees them. His horn is surrounded by a silvery light.
"You are out! I was loosing hope... after a while since Felgor entered the cave for the last time, the entrance disappeared! I feared that you were forever lost inside..."

The unicorn seems relieved, now.
"There are no menaces here, no more. Let's rest, so at dawn we can return to the crocodile men..."

[Starbin]

Felgor nodded, turning to check for the outcropping. Shaking his head, he wondered where the caves actually were ... and how Cherudek created the place.

Looking around, he nodded again to the unicorn. "Thanks fer waitin', 'corn. Then winged things shouldnae bother ye again. Best we get some rest and check on the crocadile folk tomorrow."

Stretching, Felgor found a spot to get comfortable, readying himself for bed.

[Chained Birds]

Ren

"Hello again Horned One, I hope you weren't waiting too long for us."

She gives the unicorn a wink.

"So where is a nice place to nap?"

[Leriel]

Yrriur shows to both some comfortable places :smallwink: